The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Congress leadership, accusing party president Mallikarjun Kharge of appeasement politics and of hurting Hindu sentiments by calling Diwali the “Eid of happiness”.
“Diwali is Diwali, and Eid is Eid. Why is it that when it comes to Diwali which has its own sanctity, tradition and identity, you choose to call it Eid while extending greetings to Hindus?” said BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia on Monday, alleging that the Congress sought to dilute the identity of Hindu festivals.
“This is the DNA of the Congress party. You have to silence the majority and surrender to the radicals.
Bhatia said Kharge’s choice of words reflected the Congress leadership’s broader approach towards Hindu religious traditions. First, indulging in blatant appeasement of the Muslim community and second, hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community,” he said. Accusing the Congress of following a selective definition of secularism, Bhatia said, “The Congress party’s definition of secularism is to silence the majority. Earlier reporting noted: Reacting to his comments, BJP’s national media co-incharge and spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said the Congress chose vote bank politics even on Diwali with the party president describing Diwali as an “Eid of Happiness”.
Earlier reporting noted: The BJP also called the Congress an anti-Sanatani party. Earlier reporting noted: BJP slams Kharge for calling Diwali ‘Eid of joy’, dares Congress to call Eid ‘Diwali of joy’ The BJP on Monday came down heavily on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for calling Diwali a ‘khushiyon ka Eid’, and dared him and senior opposition party leader Rahul Gandhi to call Eid a ‘Diwali of joy’.
I am sure they don’t. But they have a mobile. Can they Google what Eid means? Eid means ‘tyohar’, Diwali ka ‘tyohar’, Holi ka ‘tyohar’ – that’s what he means. Congress leader Rashid Alvi made the same point. “Clearly, when it comes to expressing joy, Eid is often used as a metaphor, much like how, when someone reappears after a long absence, people ask, ‘Kya tum Eid ka chand ho gaye ho?
Union minister Giriraj Singh said this wasn’t a one-off remark and linked Kharge’s remarks to the Congress leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and his family. Congress leader Pawan Khera said Eid was often used as a metaphor for joy. Hitting back at the BJP, Khera said, “Does anybody in the BJP have a dictionary in their house? Eid is synonymous with joy,” he said.
