New Delhi: Congress Leader Rahul Gandhistates that muslim league is a secular party, which has created a major controversy between its party and its rival BJP, Leaders of both the traditional rivals are trading business allegations on the statement, which has now acquired quite controversial proportions.
Rahul, who is on a visit to the US, participated in an interaction on June 1 Washington DC National Press Club. The interviewer asked him, “You talked about secularism in a democracy. You are opposing the Hindu party BJP. However, the Congress in Kerala has been in alliance with the Muslim party Muslim League in Kerala, the state you belong to.” You were an MP, sorry.
In response to this question, Rahul defended the Muslim League by calling it a completely secular party. He said, “The Muslim League is a completely secular party. There is nothing non-secular about the Muslim League. I think (the one who sent the question) has not studied the Muslim League.”
Congress and Indian Union Muslim League ,IUML) is an ally of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and they jointly contest elections against the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), which is in power in the southern state.
Rahul was the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala’s Wayanad since 2019, until he was disqualified earlier this year after being sentenced to two years by a Surat court in a defamation case.
BJP targeted Rahul Gandhi
On this answer of Rahul, there has been a befitting reply from the BJP.
Speaking to media persons, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur termed Rahul’s remarks as “anti-India”. He alleged that whenever Congress leaders go abroad, they deliberately tarnish the image of the country.
Union Minister of Earth Sciences kiran rijiju Said on Twitter: “Is Jinnah’s Muslim League a secular party? The party responsible for the partition of India on religious lines is a secular party? It is very unfortunate that some people in India still consider a person who supports Muslim League to be secular!
Rijiju further accused the Congress leader of doing only one thing, that is abusing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi And they are defaming the country both at home and abroad. “I don’t understand why he hates PM Modi so much and speaks against the country. He should know that this country has given his family everything that a common man cannot even imagine. Rahul Gandhi is not able to tolerate that a common man should become the PM of the country. No one takes their language and the way they speak seriously.
He said that BJP leader and former Union Minister KJ Alphons while talking to news agency ANI said that the Indian Union Muslim League clearly means that it is a party only for Muslims.
Alphons, who hails from Kerala, said, “There is no Hindu or Christian in the IUML. It has never happened and it will never happen. Once upon a time, 30-40 years back, the Muslim League was a more ideologically balanced party. In the last 15-20 years, the party has become completely silent on extremism and fundamentalism. Kerala has become ISIS’s laboratory for radicalisation. These people don’t say a word. Which is the constituency of Rahul Gandhi? Wayanad. Over 30% of the votes, apparently around 33% of the electorate, belong to the Muslim community. He gets those votes in blocks. So he has to say this.
He alleged that the problem with Rahul Gandhi is that he does not have the ability to understand. Taking a jibe at Rahul, he said, “Okay. Some people don’t have intellectual capacity but at least they listen to other people who have brains. Has he ever read the book? Has he ever given a good speech in Parliament in the last 20 years? Has he made a statement in Zero Hour? Has he asked a question? Has he introduced any bill? He did not. And so I don’t blame him. It’s in his DNA. But I think it’s very unfortunate. Some people worship the family. He goes abroad and defames the country, the prime minister and the citizens. I think this is not acceptable.”
BJP leader cum in-charge of West Bengal Amit Malviya said in a tweet, “Jinnah’s Muslim League, the party responsible for the partition of India on religious lines, is a ‘secular’ party according to Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi may be less educated, but he is insidious and devious here. It is also their compulsion to remain acceptable in Wayanad.
Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said, “The mindset of calling Muslim League ‘secular’ is dangerous. I don’t take Rahul Gandhi’s ignorant statement seriously. I believe whether Congress or Rahul Gandhi, if they say that Muslim League is secular, so they are sowing the seeds of division.”
Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya Direct attack against Rahul He said, “It seems that Rahul Gandhi has lost his mental balance. He is continuously making such statements during his USA tour as if he is going to contest elections from the same country. This is a democracy, not the rule of one family. The Gandhi family does not have the birthright on the PM’s chair. People’s blessings decide who will become the PM of the country. He has raised questions on the judiciary, media and constitutional bodies. No son of India will speak against the country while visiting abroad.
Maurya also alleged that Rahu’s Langu is a traitor. He demanded that senior Congress leaders stop him from making statements defaming the country. “The 2024 Lok Sabha election is round the corner and he should say whatever he feels on the soil of India. He should apologize for the offense and the sin he has committed.”
Another deputy CM of UP, Brijesh Pathak, termed Rahul’s remarks as ‘extremely sad’. He said, “The people of India will never accept the insult of the nation on foreign soil.”
Congress defends Rahul Gandhi
While BJP leaders attacked Rahul without sparing, their Congress leaders came to the rescue of their leader. He hit back at the leaders of the ruling party.
National spokesperson Pawan Khera sought to remind the BJP of its ties with the Muslim League in the past. He said, “The BJP, and especially the party of (Narendra) Modi and Amit Shah, remembers Jinnah’s Muslim League only because their ideological progenitor Syama Prasad Mukherjee had aligned with the same Muslim League and formed governments and Pakistan The resolution was allowed to pass.” ,
Khera also sought to clarify that the Muslim League he was referring to was the IUML (Indian Union Muslim League). He said Ismail, who founded the IUML, was a member of the Constituent Assembly. He said that he ordered his son Miya Khan to join the Indian Army when the 1962 war against China was being fought.
The Congress leader further said that this is the same Muslim League whose minister (E Ahmed) was sent by (then PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee to represent India in Geneva. This is the same Muslim League whose education minister Basheer set up the biggest Sanskrit university in Kerala, he said and added, “I remind Modi and Amit Malviya that this is the same Muslim League with which the BJP aligned in Nagpur Municipality Was. Was it not secular at that time? They should also understand that any political party which is not secular cannot be registered as per the rules. If this party is not secular, they should cancel its registration.”
Jairam Ramesh, Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general secretary in-charge of communications, said in a tweet: “When Gandhiji launched the Quit India movement, Syama Prasad Mukherjee (SPM) was with the Muslim League in the Bengal government. The SPM was solely responsible for the partition of Bengal.”
Kerala Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala reiterated that IUML is a secular party. “Definitely, IUML is a secular party. They believe in secularism, they fight for secularism and they are against fascist movements. So, whatever Rahul Gandhi said is 100% correct.”
Rahul, who is on a visit to the US, participated in an interaction on June 1 Washington DC National Press Club. The interviewer asked him, “You talked about secularism in a democracy. You are opposing the Hindu party BJP. However, the Congress in Kerala has been in alliance with the Muslim party Muslim League in Kerala, the state you belong to.” You were an MP, sorry.
In response to this question, Rahul defended the Muslim League by calling it a completely secular party. He said, “The Muslim League is a completely secular party. There is nothing non-secular about the Muslim League. I think (the one who sent the question) has not studied the Muslim League.”
Congress and Indian Union Muslim League ,IUML) is an ally of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and they jointly contest elections against the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), which is in power in the southern state.
Rahul was the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala’s Wayanad since 2019, until he was disqualified earlier this year after being sentenced to two years by a Surat court in a defamation case.
BJP targeted Rahul Gandhi
On this answer of Rahul, there has been a befitting reply from the BJP.
Speaking to media persons, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur termed Rahul’s remarks as “anti-India”. He alleged that whenever Congress leaders go abroad, they deliberately tarnish the image of the country.
Union Minister of Earth Sciences kiran rijiju Said on Twitter: “Is Jinnah’s Muslim League a secular party? The party responsible for the partition of India on religious lines is a secular party? It is very unfortunate that some people in India still consider a person who supports Muslim League to be secular!
Rijiju further accused the Congress leader of doing only one thing, that is abusing the Prime Minister Narendra Modi And they are defaming the country both at home and abroad. “I don’t understand why he hates PM Modi so much and speaks against the country. He should know that this country has given his family everything that a common man cannot even imagine. Rahul Gandhi is not able to tolerate that a common man should become the PM of the country. No one takes their language and the way they speak seriously.
He said that BJP leader and former Union Minister KJ Alphons while talking to news agency ANI said that the Indian Union Muslim League clearly means that it is a party only for Muslims.
Alphons, who hails from Kerala, said, “There is no Hindu or Christian in the IUML. It has never happened and it will never happen. Once upon a time, 30-40 years back, the Muslim League was a more ideologically balanced party. In the last 15-20 years, the party has become completely silent on extremism and fundamentalism. Kerala has become ISIS’s laboratory for radicalisation. These people don’t say a word. Which is the constituency of Rahul Gandhi? Wayanad. Over 30% of the votes, apparently around 33% of the electorate, belong to the Muslim community. He gets those votes in blocks. So he has to say this.
He alleged that the problem with Rahul Gandhi is that he does not have the ability to understand. Taking a jibe at Rahul, he said, “Okay. Some people don’t have intellectual capacity but at least they listen to other people who have brains. Has he ever read the book? Has he ever given a good speech in Parliament in the last 20 years? Has he made a statement in Zero Hour? Has he asked a question? Has he introduced any bill? He did not. And so I don’t blame him. It’s in his DNA. But I think it’s very unfortunate. Some people worship the family. He goes abroad and defames the country, the prime minister and the citizens. I think this is not acceptable.”
BJP leader cum in-charge of West Bengal Amit Malviya said in a tweet, “Jinnah’s Muslim League, the party responsible for the partition of India on religious lines, is a ‘secular’ party according to Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi may be less educated, but he is insidious and devious here. It is also their compulsion to remain acceptable in Wayanad.
Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said, “The mindset of calling Muslim League ‘secular’ is dangerous. I don’t take Rahul Gandhi’s ignorant statement seriously. I believe whether Congress or Rahul Gandhi, if they say that Muslim League is secular, so they are sowing the seeds of division.”
Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya Direct attack against Rahul He said, “It seems that Rahul Gandhi has lost his mental balance. He is continuously making such statements during his USA tour as if he is going to contest elections from the same country. This is a democracy, not the rule of one family. The Gandhi family does not have the birthright on the PM’s chair. People’s blessings decide who will become the PM of the country. He has raised questions on the judiciary, media and constitutional bodies. No son of India will speak against the country while visiting abroad.
Maurya also alleged that Rahu’s Langu is a traitor. He demanded that senior Congress leaders stop him from making statements defaming the country. “The 2024 Lok Sabha election is round the corner and he should say whatever he feels on the soil of India. He should apologize for the offense and the sin he has committed.”
Another deputy CM of UP, Brijesh Pathak, termed Rahul’s remarks as ‘extremely sad’. He said, “The people of India will never accept the insult of the nation on foreign soil.”
Congress defends Rahul Gandhi
While BJP leaders attacked Rahul without sparing, their Congress leaders came to the rescue of their leader. He hit back at the leaders of the ruling party.
National spokesperson Pawan Khera sought to remind the BJP of its ties with the Muslim League in the past. He said, “The BJP, and especially the party of (Narendra) Modi and Amit Shah, remembers Jinnah’s Muslim League only because their ideological progenitor Syama Prasad Mukherjee had aligned with the same Muslim League and formed governments and Pakistan The resolution was allowed to pass.” ,
Khera also sought to clarify that the Muslim League he was referring to was the IUML (Indian Union Muslim League). He said Ismail, who founded the IUML, was a member of the Constituent Assembly. He said that he ordered his son Miya Khan to join the Indian Army when the 1962 war against China was being fought.
The Congress leader further said that this is the same Muslim League whose minister (E Ahmed) was sent by (then PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee to represent India in Geneva. This is the same Muslim League whose education minister Basheer set up the biggest Sanskrit university in Kerala, he said and added, “I remind Modi and Amit Malviya that this is the same Muslim League with which the BJP aligned in Nagpur Municipality Was. Was it not secular at that time? They should also understand that any political party which is not secular cannot be registered as per the rules. If this party is not secular, they should cancel its registration.”
Jairam Ramesh, Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general secretary in-charge of communications, said in a tweet: “When Gandhiji launched the Quit India movement, Syama Prasad Mukherjee (SPM) was with the Muslim League in the Bengal government. The SPM was solely responsible for the partition of Bengal.”
Kerala Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala reiterated that IUML is a secular party. “Definitely, IUML is a secular party. They believe in secularism, they fight for secularism and they are against fascist movements. So, whatever Rahul Gandhi said is 100% correct.”