It all started as a birthday tribute for Rahul Gandhi in Varanasi but has become a flashpoint. The BJP says the Congress has been disrespectful by putting him in the shoes of the Hindu god. An apology is being called for, with the party painting this as yet another example of their brand of politics. On Friday, some of the BJP’s top brass made a point of ratcheting up the rhetoric. Spokesmen like Shehzad Poonawalla and Pradeep Bhandari were at it, contending that the way he was shown was a step too far and part of a larger trend of ignoring Hindu customs.
What set things off
Some Youth Congress workers in Varanasi put on a show for Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s 56th. They held some rituals by the Ganga, poured milk over his photo and put out a picture of him as Lord Parshuram. In the photo, he has an axe in one hand and the Constitution in the other. That, the BJP will tell you, is what stung, not the birthday itself.
The BJP’s take: an affront to the faith
‘For the Congress, Gandhi may be God. But he is not for Hindus,’ said national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, who put it bluntly: this is the only identity the man and his party have left – to be an insulter of the Hindu faith. Poonawalla sees the whole thing as a mark of disrespect to have Gandhi be an avatar of God. He says the Congress and its friends have a habit of trampling on traditions when it suits them for the sake of votes.
He is quick to bring up old scores. He has them on record for talking of saffron terror, for saying the Ram Mandir consecration was just a bit of singing and dancing, and for calling into question the very existence of Lord Ram. Not to mention, he says, they were the ones holding up the Ram Mandir.
Apology or else?
So the question from Poonawalla is: are they going to make amends with the crores of Hindus they’ve offended? He notes this isn’t new, and has pointed to some past comments on Sanatan to prove it.
Equating a politician with a god is, in his view, blasphemy. He is asking for a straight answer from the Congress: will they say sorry or carry on with the vote-bank game?
Then there is the alliance angle
Pradeep Bhandari, another of the BJP’s spokespeople, says the Congress lot have made a mockery of Lord Parshuram. ‘They think of us for a day in the year and do appeasement the rest of the time,’ he put it.
Bhandari also made a point of the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha race, where the Congress candidate was bested by an NDA-backed independent on Thursday. ‘Even 24 hours ago the JMM let us in on it: their own allies didn’t back the Congress man,’ he said.
Looking to 2029, he has no doubt: ‘The people of India, the Sanatanis, have decided. They are with PM Narendra Modi.’
Where do we go from here
The BJP is now putting the onus on the Congress to own up to the image and what it means. It is a matter of whether their leaders will stand by what their supporters did or put some distance between them and it.
Here is what the BJP is asking for: – An open apology from Rahul Gandhi and the Congress – Some answers on why they use these kind of images – To admit they have caused offence to Hindus – A promise it won’t happen again
Mind you, this is about a local get-together with the Youth Congress in Varanasi, not some national push. We have not seen a word back from the Congress on any of this, nor on the call for an apology.
It is more than just religious feelings; it is about the optics of a leader and a god in the same frame. With the BJP not letting up, the Congress has to decide if it is time to change its tune or face the music.
