New Delhi: The Lok Sabha speaker expunged parts of Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Hinduism from the records of Parliament.
The removed portions also included certain comments on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Gandhi launched a no-holds-barred attack on the BJP in the Lok Sabha on Monday, accusing the leaders of the ruling party of dividing people on communal lines, drawing massive protests from the treasury benches, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi slamming the Congress leader for calling the entire Hindu community violent.
"It is not just one religion that talks about courage. In fact, all our religions talk about courage," Gandhi said in his debut speech as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, which was watched by his mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from the visitors' gallery.
The Congress leader was speaking during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the president's address to a joint sitting of Parliament.
Gandhi quoted Prophet Muhammad to highlight that the Quran talks about fearlessness.
Holding up pictures of Lord Shiva, Guru Nanak, and Jesus Christ, he referred to Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism and Jainism to underline the importance of fearlessness. He also cited the attributes of Lord Shiva and the teachings of Guru Nanak, Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Mahavir to state that all religions and great people of the country have said "daro mat, darao mat (do not be scared, do not scare others)".
"Shivji says daro mat, darao mat ... talks about ahimsa..."
As the treasury bench members stood up in protest, Gandhi slammed the BJP, saying, "Aap Hindu ho hi nahi (You are not Hindus). It is clearly written in Hinduism that one should stand with the truth and not back down from the truth or be scared of it," Gandhi said.
PM Modi, intervening Gandhi's speech, said, "This issue is very serious. Calling the entire Hindu community violent is a serious issue."
Home Minister Amit Shah sought the Congress leader's apology to the House and the country for hurting the feelings of crores of people who take pride in identifying themselves as Hindus.
He said the ruckus created by the opposition cannot drown the fact that Gandhi had made certain remarks in the House.
Shah spoke of the Emergency and 1984 anti-Sikhs riots to hit back at Gandhi, saying he had no right to talk about non-violence when the Congress had spread "ideological terror" in the country.
In a swipe at Gandhi for alleging that the ministers do not greet him, the prime minister said democracy and the Constitution have taught him to take the leader of opposition seriously.
Meanwhile, Gandhi accused the BJP of launching "systematic attacks" on the Constitution and the fundamental concept of India, noting that millions of people have resisted the ideas proposed by the ruling party.
"I was attacked on the orders of Prime Minister Modi and the government. There were 20-plus cases (against me), a two-year jail sentence, (my) house was taken away, (I was subjected to) 55 hours of interrogation by the ED," he said.
As Gandhi held up a picture of Lord Shiva, Speaker Om Birla reminded him that rules do not allow displaying placards in the House.
Gandhi also criticised the Agnipath scheme for short-term military recruitment and said that the government does not even give them the status of a "shaheed" (martyr) and that no compensation is extended to their families in they are killed in action.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh intervened to rebut Gandhi's charge.
The Congress leader also hit out at the Centre over the situation in Manipur, alleging that it has pushed the northeastern state into a civil war.
Later, in a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "Narendra Modi has been running the 'reign of fear' for 10 years! By taking control of all the agencies, institutions and the media, the BJP has only worked to spread fear in every section of the society."
(With PTI inputs)
