"The charge made by Rahul Gandhi is outrageous and not only an insult to the Hindu community as a whole but also an insult to the Indian Muslims, who are being compared to terrorists operating from across the border," BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay told rediff.com.
He said that the Congress general secretary has also insulted Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who were proud of being Hindus. "Gandhi wrote a brilliant book on Hinduism and Rahul's statements are an insult to her," he pointed out.
By equating the Lasker to Hindus, Rahul is making a last ditch effort to woo the Muslim vote bank, the BJP spokesperson said. "Muslims have grown wiser over the years and can see through the game. A sizeable section of Muslims voted for the BJP and Janata Dal-United in the Bihar elections. The Congress leader feels that the Hindus are a divided lot and hence he can take them for granted," he added.
Ridiculing Rahul, Vijay said that the Congress leader was acting as an agent for the BJP by making such statements against Hindus. "Rahul Gandhi must clarify his position," he said.
When contacted Congress spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi told rediff.com that the party's position was clear. "Let us verify the facts first and everything else comes later," he said.
According to a secret US diplomatic cable from New Delhi, Rahul shared his views with Roemer on a range of political topics, social challenges and electoral issues for his party in the next five years.
