Rahul Gandhi should apologise as he insulted Hindus by calling Lord Ram mythological: VHP

Addressing a press conference, VHP general secretary (organisation) Milind Parande said the Hindu community should not let leaders like Gandhi come to power.

Nagpur: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of insulting the Hindu community by calling Lord Ram a "mythological figure", and demanded an apology from him.

Addressing a press conference here, VHP general secretary (organisation) Milind Parande said the Hindu community should not let leaders like Gandhi come to power.

During an interaction at a US university last month, Gandhi rejected the BJP's idea of what constitutes a Hindu and asserted all great Indian social reformers and political thinkers -- Jyotirao Phule, BR Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and even Guru Nanak, Basava and Buddha -- said the same thing, "Carry everybody with you, satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence)." "This, to me, is the bedrock of Indian tradition and history. I don't know of one person whom we consider great in India who wasn't of this type. I can't think of one. All are mythological figures. Lord Ram was of that time, where he was forgiving, he was compassionate," the Congress leader had said.

Parande said, "During his interview in US-based Brown University, Gandhi called many subjects of Indian history as mythology and even called Lord Ram a mythological figure. By doing so, he has insulted the Hindu community and Hindu faith on foreign land." "It is not surprising as in 2007, the then Congress government had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in the Ram Setu case, stating that Lord Ram is a mythological figure. Hence, I feel Congress and its leaders are continuously insulting the Hindu community. VHP condemns this and demands that Rahul Gandhi should apologise for his statements," he said.

Gandhi does not know that anyone who opposes Lord Ram gets destroyed, he added.

"And this is what will happen. I think Hindu community should not let such people come to power...people whose only aim is power. Rahul Gandhi continuously gives anti-Hindu statements. Hence, it is important that people who care for the interest of Hindus should sit in central and state governments," he said.

Talking about the Pahalgam terror attack, he said jihadist violence was on the rise everywhere.

"The way innocent people were killed in Pahalgam, the way their religion was asked before being killed ruthlessly -- it raises a question mark over the saying that terrorism does not have a religion," he said.

"The Hindu community is being attacked by those indulging in jihadist violence. If a section of Muslim think that they can scare the Hindu community through violence, then it is their misunderstanding. Certainly, the grave of jihadists will be dug in India and the Hindu community will dig it," the VHP leader said.

When asked about the VHP's stand on the decision to conduct a caste census, he said, "I feel a lot of things will come to light if the census of the entire society is conducted. But I feel the subject of the caste census of the entire population has become a little different." However, VHP believes and works towards the goal that Hindu community should rise above caste and be united. Since the government has decided and as many people have demanded, caste census will be implemented, Parande said.

The VHP is operating with the focus of keeping the Hindu society united, enhancing the nationalist character, patriotism among the community members, he said.