INDORE: Often a target of sarcastic attack by the ruling BJP for his temple visits, Congress national president Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday that he didn’t need a certificate from the RSS and the BJP for visiting any temple.
“Is a temple the property of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, RSS and BJP? Aren’t we allowed there? I’ll go wherever I feel. I’ll go to a temple if I want,” Rahul said in an interaction with journalists in Indore.
“When Modi and Shah go to a temple and are asked there to dress up in particular attire, then the BJP and RSS leaders don’t utter anything. But when Rahul Gandhi, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia visit a temple and are asked to wear particular attires there, the RSS and the BJP say we went to a fancy dress event.”
On Monday, when Rahul along with other Congress leaders visited Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra questioned what was Rahul’s ‘gotra’.Taking a dig at Modi for his demonetisation move, Rahul asserted the PM doesn’t do detailed thinking at all. “He takes his decisions like demonetisation as though he’s buying popcorn at a cinema.”
The Congress chief, however, evaded direct reply to questions asked about his party’s stand on the possibility of Modi government bringing legislation to build Ram Temple at Ayodhya and the upper caste movement against the amended SC/ST Act.
When asked for an assurance that petrol and diesel will become cheaper if his government comes to power in 2019, Rahul said “if petrol and diesel prices don’t get cheap, then excess money will be transferred to the pockets of poor in other ways like the MNREGA and food security.”
Rahul said the CM candidate in Madhya Pradesh won’t be declared as he wanted to rope in both experienced Kamal Nath and young and dynamic Jyotiraditya Scindia. “The people of Madhya Pradesh will decide at the appropriate time who should be their chief minister. We’ll use the same strategy in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh also and in Uttar Pradesh.”
He added that a swing of 3-5% for the Congress will demolish the BJP in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.