Rahul & Priyanka Gandhi slam communal speech at Haridwar event; questions BJP's silence

Shocked at the blatantly communal speech in the 'Dharam Sansad' at Haridwar, top Congress leaders - Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khurshid and others slammed it. The Wayanad MP, who has been promoting the 'Hindu Vs Hindutva' debate said  'Hindutva always spread hatred and violence and  Hindu-Muslim-Sikh-Christian pay the price'.  An FIR has been filed by Uttarakhand police against Wasim Rizvi aka Jitendra Tyagi and others under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different religious groups) IPC in connection to the event.

Gandhis & Congress leaders slam Haridwar 'Dharam Sansad'

Similar to Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra termed the open call to 'murder' ex-PM Manmohan Singh as despicable, demanding strict action against the organisers. Meanwhile, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh claimed 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas is total Bakwaas', slamming BJP's silence on hate speech. Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohammad noted that while an FIR was filed on the event, no arrest had been made yet.

What happened at 'Dharam Sansad?'

As per reports, the second 'Dharam Sansad' was organised by controversial monk Yati Narasinghanand saw the congregation of many hardline monks, calling for 'genocide against Muslims', among a few other call to action in the event. Other leaders like Annapurna Maa - General secretary of Hindu Mahasabha, claimed that she will use 'weapons' to defend Hindu Sanatan Dharm from those threatening it. Most leaders also vowed to emulate Nathuram Godse and kill anyone who hurt religious sentiments.

Videos, now viral on Twitter, from the event show Bihar's Dharamdas Maharaj threatening to kill ex-PM Manmohan Singh for saying 'minorities have first right over national resources'. Emulating the Mahatma's assassin, he said that he would 'not have hesitated to shoot at him (Singh) six times in the chest', had he been an MP. Narasinghanand, who has habitually spewed communal statements, coined the term, "Shastrameva jayate', on the lines of India's motto - 'Satyameva Jayate'.

Invoking slain LTTE terrorist V Prabhakaran, Narasinghanand said, "If any youth worker is prepared to become the Hindu Prabhakaran, then before anyone else, I will give him Rs 1 crore. If he continues for one year, I will raise at least Rs 100 crore to give". The leaders also claimed that India was turning into an Islamic nation inspite of Hindus constituted of 70% of the population. The first Dharam Sansad - headed by Narasinghanand - was held in January 2020, days before the Delhi riots.