KC Venugopal targets PM Modi

New Delhi: Congress MP KC Venugopal launched a scathing attack on the NDA government led by Prime Minister Modi and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is projecting the prime minister bigger than God and using Hinduism to “polarise” the people and win elections.

Referring to the Bhagavad Gita during the debate on the motion of thanks to President Draupadi Murmu’s speech, the Congress leader challenged the NDA on who could be called a “true Hindu believer” and said, “A true Hindu is a person who understands the message of debate, tolerance and human values. Both Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse believed in the Bhagavad Gita.”

“Both Mahatma Gandhi and Godse read Bhagavad Gita, but Mahatma Gandhi learnt non-violence, tolerance, respect for human life and the message of Lord Krishna from the holy book. Whereas Godse learnt violence, murder and intolerance from the same book,” he said.

He added, “We, the Congress and the INDIA bloc, believe in Gandhian Hinduism, not Godse Hinduism. We follow Gandhian Hinduism, not Godse Hinduism.”

KC Venugopal also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the latter had violated constitutional norms while delivering speeches at rallies ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

“I draw the attention of this House to a serious problem: our Prime Minister clearly violated constitutional norms in his speech.

Quoting the Prime Minister’s remarks on ‘mangalsutra’ and ‘legacy’ during the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign in Gujarat, KC Venugopal said, “How can a Prime Minister talk like this? We have submitted hundreds of petitions to the Election Commission, but they have become silent spectators.”

He also targeted the NDA for its strong objection to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Hinduism on Monday and said, “Yesterday, Rahul ji’s statements created controversy after his speech on Hinduism. Are you (BJP) or we the true believers of Hinduism? You (BJP) are not the true Hindu believers, you are using Hinduism to polarise the people to win elections.”

Taking a dig at the controversial remarks made by the BJP in recent times, KC Venugopal said, “Yesterday, the party chief spoke about the PM’s non-biological birth, that he was not born biologically like us.”

Listing out BJP Sambit Patra’s remarks at a rally in Puri, Venugopal said, “Sambit Patra said Lord Jagannath is a ‘Modi bhakt’. JP Nadda ji said PM Modi is now Surendra Modi and he is the lord of gods.”

Another BJP leader Kangana Ranaut said, “PM Modi is an ansh of Lord Ram and Vishnu who takes care of us, while Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi said Bajrangbali is a Dalit, a forest dweller and an underprivileged.”

Quoting a controversial remark by a cabinet minister on Ramayana, he said, “A minister in the NDA cabinet said that Ravan was an intellectual and Lord Ram was imaginary. I do not consider Ramayana as a true story and I do not accept that Lord Ram was a great historical figure, further adding, ‘And you (BJP) consider yourselves Hindus and we (INDIA) are anti-Hindu.’

He added, “I am also a Hindu. I used to go to Guruvarayappan temple every month and Sabri Malai every year. But I used to visit Vatican, Sharif of Ajmer and also went to the Golden Temple with leader Rahul Gandhi.”

“We did seva there. The BJP thinks that Prime Minister Modi is greater than God and projects that the Prime Minister is greater than God. This is the biggest anti-Hindu statement. This is the biggest anti-believer statement. According to Hinduism, no one is greater than God,” he said.

Earlier in the day, KC Venugopal attacked the NDA government for multiple infrastructure failures and said that under the BJP regime, “every building is at risk of collapse”.

During the debate on the motion of thanks to President Draupadi Murmu, the Congress leader said, “The roof of Delhi airport has collapsed, the roof of Jabalpur airport has collapsed, the glass roof of Rajkot airport has collapsed, the roads of Ayodhya are in bad condition, there are leakages in Ram Mandir, cracks in Mumbai Port Link Road, three new bridges have collapsed in Bihar, the Pragati Maidan tunnel has been submerged, all these constructions have collapsed during the NDA period. Under their rule, every building is in danger of collapse.”

The Congress leader also challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to probe the alleged electoral bond scam and said he would initiate a parliamentary committee inquiry to probe the same.

“I challenge the Prime Minister to investigate the electoral bonds. One of the biggest scams this country has ever seen is the electoral bonds. If you are not afraid of anything… then why don’t you investigate? Get investigated by a parliamentary committee. You are not ready.”

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday pleaded for installation of Ambedkar’s statue outside Parliament. “They keep saying that they have created the new Parliament. Would it not have been appropriate to install an idol of Bhimrao Ambedkar outside Parliament?” he asked.

The canopy collapse incident took place at Terminal 1 of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on June 28 morning, killing one person and injuring eight others.

A day later, the canopy collapsed at the passenger pick-up and drop-off area of ​​Rajkot airport in Gujarat on June 29.