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Published 12:18 IST, January 14th 2019

WATCH: BJP shocked over what Rahul Gandhi didn't mention about Mahatma Gandhi 'picking up' non-violence

The BJP has levelled allegations against Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his recent high-profile visit to Dubai, claiming that he has indulged in religious politics for vote-bank purposes.

Reported by: Ankit Prasad
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The BJP has levelled allegations against Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his recent high-profile visit to Dubai, claiming that he has indulged in religious politics for vote-bank purposes.

The specific allegation relates to a part of the Congress president's address to Indian diaspora in Dubai, where he attributes Mahatma Gandhi 'picking up' the idea of non-violence from 'our great religions'. He goes on to name some religions and not name others, with Hinduism - the faith most followed in India - falling in the latter list.

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Addressing a massive gathering of Indian diaspora at a stadium in Dubai, Rahul Gandhi spoke about the idea of non-violence, and said:

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"But Mahatma Gandhiji picked up the idea of non-violence from our great religions, from our great teachers. He picked up the idea of non-violence from ancient Indian philosophy, from Islam, from Christianity, from Judaism, from every great religion."

Following this, BJP spokesperson and Supreme Court advocate Gaurav Bhatia tweeted the video, writing:

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"This is the real face of an election-Hindu. He's issuing a lecture on non-violence in Dubai. All over the world, Hinduism is considered the most tolerant and he doesn't even mention it. Only because there are fewer people practicing that religion there. He has numerous cloaks, he wears that which suits his purpose."

This isn't the only point the BJP has highlighted about Rahul Gandhi's visit to the UAE, where he, among other things, met a number of key leaders and heads of state.

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Earlier, the party had posted a viral comparison of visits to the region by PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi. In the Modi photo, the Prime Minister can be seen sitting at a table with blue-collar workers opening boxed meals with them, whereas in the Rahul Gandhi photo, the Congress president is sitting down at a table with a clearly high-powered delegation, with the table lavishly piled with food and other gilded ornate things.

Coming back to the Rahul Gandhi vis-a-vis religions issue, the Congress president had faced similar criticism during the Gujarat and Karnataka elections, on account of his 'temple run' before the polls, wherein he visited dozens of temples.
 

12:06 IST, January 14th 2019