NEW DELHI: BJP on Monday flayed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for referring to Diwali as “khushiyon ki ek Eid“, saying the invocation of a Muslim festival symbolised the opposition’s “politics of appeasement and disregard for Hindu sentiments”.“Will Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have the courage to extend greetings to the Muslim community on Eid by calling it ‘khushiyon ki Diwali’? He has insulted the distinct identity of the Hindu festival,” BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said.“Diwali is a symbol of India’s ancient cultural heritage, faith and pride. However, Congress cannot help hurting sentiments of Hindu community even on this sacred festival. Congress has always insulted Sanatan culture. For Congress, vote-bank politics always takes precedence,” Bhatia said.Speaking to reporters as he extended Diwali greetings to people, Kharge had described the festival as “khushiyon ki ek Eid” (festival of happiness), with his choice of the word touching a raw nerve.
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Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera defended Kharge, saying those criticising the remark were “semantically ignorant” as the word ‘Eid’ literally means “festival”Bhatia alleged Kharge’s comments are of piece with past instances of Congress disrespecting Hindu sentiments, noting that the opposition party once described Lord Rama as imaginary. No member of the Gandhi family has visited Ram temple in Ayodhya yet, he noted.BJP had last week attacked Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi over her statement that she cried looking at the demolition of Babri mosque, the site of the temple in Ayodhya now, in 1992, he added. Targeting her, BJP has questioned if she also felt emotional at the exodus of Hindus after militancy erupted in Kashmir in 1990.