I stand by my words; truth can be expunged in Modi's world: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: A defiant Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said truth can be expunged in the world of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but not in reality, hours after significant parts of his Lok Sabha speech were deleted by the chair.
"Whatever I had to say, I have said and that is the truth. They can expunge as much as they want, but the truth will prevail," Gandhi told reporters in Parliament complex.

The Congress leader was responding to questions on certain remarks he made during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
"Truth can be expunged in the world of Modi ji, but in reality truth cannot be expunged," Gandhi said.

In his first speech as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi launched a no-holds-barred attack on the BJP, accusing the leaders of the ruling party of dividing people on communal lines.
Gandhi's remarks drew massive protests from the treasury benches and a rare intervention from the prime minister, who slammed 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 Lok Sabha. 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 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," he said.
Modi, intervening into Gandhi's speech, said, "This issue is very serious. Calling the entire Hindu community violent is a serious issue."
Meanwhile, 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.