A day after a major row erupted after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s name allegedly figured in a register meant for non-Hindus entering the Somnath Temple, a video in which the Congress leader reiterates he is a Shiv bhakt and doesn’t need a certificate from anyone has surfaced.
“My grandmother and my family are Shiv bhakts. These things (religion) are normally kept private – we don’t speak about them. We believe that our religion is our personal matter. We don’t need a certificate about this from anyone,” Gandhi is seen telling a group of people in the video. He was speaking at a closed-door meeting in Amreli.
Rahul has been drawing the BJP’s ire for his frequent temple visits during poll-related tours to the state in the past couple of months. He is also heard saying he doesn’t want to use religion to gain political mileage.
The Congress leader says he had signed only the visitors’ book at the temple, but some people associated with the BJP had put his name in the second list just to create the controversy.
A row had erupted after the entry surfaced, with the BJP accusing Rahul of fooling people with his temple visits when he was not a Hindu. The Congress had, however, clarified that he was not only a Hindu by birth but a janeu dhari Hindu, that is, a Brahmin.
Earlier, in the video, Gandhi describes Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as friends.
“Sardar Patelji and Nehruji were friends. There were political differences, but not ideological. They were in jail together, but lies are being spread that they were enemies,” he is heard saying.
The Congress leader also says he has several letters to prove that Sardar Patel was opposed to the RSS, but lies are being spread that he believed in RSS thinking.
