BJP MLA Bharath Shetty criticises Rahul Gandhi's Hindu remarks in Parliament

Mangaluru (Karnataka), Jul 9 (PTI) A BJP legislator here has criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks about Hindus during a Lok Sabha speech.

MLA Bharath Shetty labelled Gandhi a "big madman" and suggested that he should have been "slapped on the cheek inside the Parliament" for his alleged "anti-Hindu" policy.

He was speaking at gathering in his constituency on July 8.

The controversy stems from Gandhi's statement in which he described Hindus as "violent." Shetty accused Gandhi of changing his religious stance based on the regions he visits. He noted that Gandhi presents himself as an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva in Gujarat, an atheist in Tamil Nadu, and a secularist in Kerala.

Despite the Congress party winning 99 seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Shetty sarcastically remarked that Gandhi was treating this outcome as a "great achievement." Slamming Gandhi for holding a picture of Lord Shiva, Shetty said, "Madman does not know that if Lord Shiva opened his third eye, he would turn into ashes." The saffron party leader charged Gandhi with promoting an "anti-Hindu policy" and expressed concern that Hindus would face future dangers due to such leadership.

Commenting on Gandhi's performance in the recent general elections, Shetty said, "After getting only 99 Lok Sabha seats, Rahul Gandhi is claiming to have made a great achievement." Congress leaders, including former minister B Ramanatha Rai, MLCs Manjunath Bhandary, DCC president Hareesh Kumar and Ivan D’Souza have held press conferences in Manglauru condemning Shetty. PTI COR AMP ROH