New Delhi: A major political row has erupted after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described Diwali as an “Eid of happiness”, with the BJP accusing the party of appeasement and vote-bank politics.
“I extend my best wishes to everyone for Diwali. Many people celebrate it as it is an Eid of Happiness,” the Congress president said in his message, urging people who have differences or misunderstandings with one another to put them aside and work together to protect the country and strengthen national unity.
BJP leaders, however, called Kharge’s remarks “anti-Sanatan” and said his choice of words hurt Hindu sentiments. Congress supporters, however, defended the greeting, saying he was trying to spread a message of peace and communal harmony, as reported by Financial Express.
Among the first to react to the remark was BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari.
“Even on Diwali, Congress thinks of appeasement and vote bank,” he posted on X, linking Kharge’s greeting to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s recent remarks on the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
“Yesterday Sonia Gandhi cried for Babri, today Mr Kharge appeases in his Diwali message! Congress is Anti-Sanatan!” Bhandari posted.
He accused the Congress leadership of deliberately linking a Hindu festival with an Islamic festival by using the word “Eid” to describe Diwali.
BJP leader C R Kesavan also criticised Kharge’s greeting, calling it a “twisted message” that hurt the sentiments of Hindus.
Vadodara MP and national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Hemang Joshi, also joined the criticism. Questioning Kharge over his remarks, Joshi asked whether Rahul Gandhi was the “Mir Jafar of New India”
In an interview with The Guardian ahead of the release of her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, Sonia recalled watching the demolition on television on December 6, 1992.
She cried after seeing the events unfold on television, Sonia claimed. The incident made her realise that India had a long struggle ahead to protect its secular foundations, she said.
The Congress had been complacent in some ways and that this had partly contributed to the rise of the BJP and its Hindutva politics, Sonia said.
This led BJP leaders to accuse the Congress of showing sympathy towards Mughal ruler Babur. They also questioned Sonia’s account of watching the demolition on television, pointing out that the demolition wasn’t telecast live at that time.
Rajya Sabha MP and BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi addressed the issue while speaking to reporters in Delhi.
“This shows that Babur was in the heart of the Congress party back then, and he remains in its heart even today,” Trivedi said.
Congress leaders and supporters defended Kharge, saying his message was meant to promote communal harmony and respect between different communities.
He used the word “Eid” to describe happiness and celebration, rather than to compare the religious significance of Diwali and Eid, they argued.
Kharge was trying to highlight how festivals across different religions bring people together and encourage people to live peacefully, they said.
The party president’s message was about sharing happiness and strengthening unity, rather than making a political or religious comparison, the Congress maintained.
Kharge’s statement didn’t go down well with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) either.
The remarks were described as a political stunt by AIMIM national spokesperson Waris Pathan, who accused the Congress president of trying to appease a particular section of voters.
Voters had become more aware and would respond to such political statements in the upcoming elections, Pathan said.
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