Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has put a scathing attack against Hindutvawadis, only to witness that it has been boomeranged against him as the parties in the opposition pocket had strongly criticized the Congress leader for his remark. On Sunday, Rahul Gandhi was addressing a rally in Jaipur that was organized by the party to protest against the surge of price and inflation. The rally was also attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

During his address, Rahul Gandhi avowed that Hindutvawadis need to be ousted from power and said India is a country of Hindus. By labelling Prime Minister Modi as Hindutvawadi, Rahul Gandhi has accused Modi of backstabbing farmers and favouring a handful of industrialists. According to reports, Rahul Gandhi said, "This is a country of Hindus, not Hindutvawadis. Hindutvawadis have to be ousted once again and the rule of Hindus brought about in the country." 

He claimed that he is a Hindu and not a Hindutvawadi and said that a Hindu heart is filled with love and that of Hindutvawadi with fear and hatred. He stated, "A Hindu is someone who is not afraid of anyone, embraces everyone, respects all religious and seeks the truth." By citing that Hindus cannot be suppressed, the Congress leader has said, "It has not happened in 3,000 years and it will not happen now. We are not afraid of dying." 

He said, "No matter, whatever happens, Hindu seeks and spends his whole life in search of truth whereas Hindutva spends his whole life in search of power and getting empowered. He will kill anyone for the sake of power. The path of Hindu is 'Satyagraha' while the path of Hindutva is 'Sattagraha." He further said Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu and his assassin Nathuram Godse a Hindutvawadi. "The Mahatma spent his entire life searching for the truth. But in the end, a Hindutvawadi had fired three bullets into his chest", Rahul added. 

He staunchly attacked the Modi regime and said that the entire country has been left in the hands of a few industrialists and further said that the government says no farmer has died during the protests. "I gave them a list of five hundred people from Punjab and Haryana and asked them that the Punjab government has given compensation, you should also give it. But they didn't", he added.

Though the rally had a packed audience and delivered a good show from the party ahead of the crucial assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, Rahul Gandhi's remark that India needs the rule of Hindus hasn't caught up well with the opposition outfits belonging to various communities as Rahul Gandhi's attack against Modi had boomeranged against him. Hitting out hard at Rahul Gandhi, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi noted that India belongs to people of all faiths and also to those who have no faith. 

Owaisi took to Twitter and said, "Rahul & INC (Indian National Congress) fertilized the ground for Hindutva. Now, they're trying to harvest majoritarianism. Bringing 'Hindus to power' is a secular agenda in 2021. Wah! India belongs to all Bharatiyas. Not Hindus alone. India belongs to people of all faiths & also those who have no faith." Joining Owaisi, BJP has also attacked Rahul Gandhi's speech and claimed that his perception of Hindu and Hindutva is beyond comprehension. 

BJP leader Satish Poonia has said, "Rahul Gandhi gave a strange interpretation of Hindu and Hindutva. Everyone knows that Hindu philosophy is a way of life, it is a matter of pride for any Indian to be Hindu and Hindutvawadi. This peculiar interpretation of Rahul Gandhi about Hinduism and Hindutva is beyond comprehension. We are all proud to be Hindus and Hindutvawadi. The way Rahul tried to create a divide seems that he is against Hindus, Hindutva, and nationalism."