'Congress suffers from Modi phobia'

'They hate him so much that if PM Modi says the Sun rises in the east the Congress will say the Sun rises in the west.'

Acharya Pramod Krishnam learnt of his expulsion from the Congress for six years for anti-party activities from the media, but he says he has so far neither received a showcause notice nor the expulsion letter.

"I had this heavy feeling in my heart that I am associated with a party which is against Lord Ram and speaks against the interests of the nation. They have relieved me of my pain," he tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com in the concluding segment of the interview.

• Part 1: 'Is it a sin to invite the prime minister of India?'

You have been a face of the Congress party close to the Hindu clergy. Not many leaders in the Congress can claim to have that kind of link. After your exit, do you feel that the party's link with the Hindu clergy has been broken permanently?

This is unfortunate for the Congress party if they understand this fact.

But let me tell you, after I have been expelled many Congress leaders are happy and they are celebrating Diwali in the party office.

They are happy that a Congressman who was speaking of Lord Ram, Mahatma Gandhi or nationalism has been thrown out of the party.

You have been in the Congress since the 1980s, so what led to the disassociation of the Congress party from the Hindu clergy?

A K Antony, former defence minister of India and a Congress leader, had written in his report in 2014 that the statements made by Congress leaders made them look like an anti-Hindu party. He addressed this report to Sonia Gandhi and emphasised the fact that if this perception is not reversed, then the Congress will be a dead party in future.

I highlighted this issue within the party forum, but the Leftist ideologues in the Congress party sidelined me. Leftist ideologues have hijacked the Congress party and what can a leader like me do?

These Leftist ideologues have finished off the Congress party.

Don't you feel in a democracy you need a strong Opposition?

It is surely good, but then it is for people to decide whom they want to keep in power and whom they want to keep in Opposition.

The core ideology of the Congress party is, and I repeat, the core ideology is Sarv Dharm Sambhav (all religions are equal). The core ideology also talks of the nation's interest.

But today, the Congress suffers from Modi phobia. Even if PM Modi does some good work for the nation they will oppose it. The message then goes to the public that the Congress is anti-religion as well as anti-nation.

If PM Modi inaugurates a new Parliament they will boycott it.

If PM Modi goes for the consecration of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya they will boycott it.

Why are you doing this?

I said this in the party forum, you please go ahead and criticise the policies of PM Modi, but don't go all out to hate the prime minister.

Today, they hate him so much that if PM Modi says the Sun rises in the east the Congress party will protest against that too and say the Sun rises in the west.

In the Congress you have leaders like Jairam Ramesh, Randeep Surjewala and K C Venugopal who have surrounded Rahul Gandhi and damaged the Congress party. They are continuously damaging the party.

For the last nine years the downfall is going on, so who is to be blamed? It is they and not Acharya Pramod Krishnam or anyone else.

And if someone asks them a question, they call him anti-party or anti-Rahul or agent of the BJP within the party forum. That poor person then has no place to go except to quit the party.

I still didn't quit the party, but was expelled. I was against this chandal chowkdi (gang of four) within the party forum and today I am out.

Theek hai, koi baat nahi (it is okay).

Did you invite the Congress leadership earlier as you conduct this Kalki Dham event every year?

Yes, I have always given them, but now the problem is that I invited PM Modi.

I am happy they expelled me from the party because I had this heavy feeling in my heart that I am associated with a party which is against Lord Ram and speaks against the interests of the nation.

They have relieved me of my pain.

But there have been statements by Congress leaders who took credit for the Ram temple and stated that it was Rajiv Gandhi who unlocked the doors of the Babri Masjid and did shilanyas in Ayodhya.

What is past is past. You cannot go back and turn the pages of history, but have to sit right here and look what is happening today.

What we see today is that the Congress got invited for the Ram temple consecration and they refused to accept the invite.

And look at my own example, I invited PM Modi for the Kalki Dham event on February 19 and he accepted it.

They expelled me from the party without even giving me a show cause notice.

Lord Ram was expelled from Ayodhya for 14 years and here I have been expelled for only six years. I will be thankful to them if they expel me for 14 years like Lord Ram rather than six years.

But your intentions will always be doubted because as a Congressman you invited PM Modi who is your political opponent.

PM Modi is the prime minister of India. PM Modi went to Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's son's marriage. Didn't he go? He went because Digvijaya invited him for his son's wedding. I too went.

When Pandit Nehru ruled India or for that matter Indira Gandhi ruled, didn't they meet Atal Bihari Vajpayee at social events? They surely met.

The same was the case when Vajpayee ruled India, he used to meet Sonia Gandhi socially. This is what democracy is all about.

PM Modi is India's prime minister and he is making Indians proud across the world. He is going to different parts of the world and winning hearts. And here the Congress wants me to feel that is not our prime minister but some stranger.

Will you join the BJP then, considering that you don't stop praising PM Modi?

I will speak about this after February 19. I am busy inviting people for the Shri Kalki Dham shilanyas at Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh till then.