BJP targets Rahul Gandhi over past remarks on Hindutva, questions Congress over ECI appointment process

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi | Photo credit: Reuters

The BJP has released a video of Rahul Gandhi’s past remarks on Hinduism, Hinduism and religious figures, saying the Congress leader is “pretending” to be a Hindu as the election approaches.

This comes days after Mr Gandhi posted a picture of ‘Tripund Tilak’, a sacred sign associated with Lord Shiva, and captioned it ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ after he was acquitted by an MP-MLA court in Sultanpur in a defamation case related to his remarks against then BJP president 201 Shah in 2018.

The BJP shared a video on social media that first showed Mr Gandhi’s X post, followed by clips of his speeches on Hindutva and Hinduism as a comparison. The song “Kya Hua Tera Wada” was playing in the background.

“If you hate Hindus so much, why pretend to be a Hindu every time there is an election, Rahul ji?” read the label on X.

In one of the clips, Mr. Gandhi is heard saying, “We have to throw out these Hindutvavadas (followers of Hindutva) once again.”

In another, he says: “Those who call themselves Hindus are engaged in violence, violence, violence, 24 hours a day. Hate, hate, hate. Lies, lies, lies.”

“People go to temples, bow their heads and worship the goddess. Yet the same people harass you on buses. The same people oppress you,” he is heard in another clip.

The video also features a Congress leader saying, “They are all mythological characters. Lord Ram belonged to that era, didn’t he?”

In another post on X, the BJP took issue with the Congress over its criticism of the process of appointing Chief Election Commissioners, alleging that there was no law or committee to select Election Commissioners during the Congress rule and that the names were decided by the Prime Minister and the government without consulting the Leader of the Opposition.

“Did you know? During the Congress rule, there was no law and no committee to select the Chief Election Commissioner. The name was decided at the whim of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet without even consulting the Leader of the Opposition,” it said.

“Today, the same Congress is questioning the transparent and impartial system,” the BJP said, asking Gandhi whether his current stance on the functioning of the CEC and the poll panel was a concern for democracy or a result of him relinquishing power.

The BJP’s contribution comes amid an ongoing political row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and allegations of voter deletion.

The Congress and other opposition parties are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.

Published – 30 Oct 2026 15:44 IST