New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday reacted sharply to the remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP have made the January 22 event a completely political 'Narendra Modi function'.
Hitting back at Gandhi, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the Congress MP lives in a 'la-la' world and that people should decide what answer they should give to his 'politics.'
"Rahul Gandhi lives in this 'la-la' world, in my opinion...The people of India are wise enough. They understand Rahul Gandhi's politics ...And we will leave it to the people of India to decide what answer they should give to Rahul Gandhi," Chandrasekhar said at a press briefing.
"His guru, Sam Pitroda, also said the same thing a few days ago. So he can think whatever he wants but it's a deeply felt emotional issue for crores of Indians,” the minister added.
He further slammed Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress leader thinks that "our faith can be manipulated" by somebody else.
“Rahul Gandhi thinks that our faith can be manipulated by somebody else. He wants to believe that he's free to do that but, that is not the case. Indians are going to make a beeline at some point in their lives to Ram temple in #Ayodhya. They (devotees) will do that not because of anything else but just because of the deep faith they have in the God they worship," ANI quoted him as saying.
Chandrasekhar also took a dig at Congress for their slogans of 'Garibi Hatao,' saying that it has taken the leadership of Prime Minister Modi to lift 25 crore Indians out of poverty.
"After 5 Years of empty slogans og 'Garibi Hatao', Prime Minister Narendra Modi through his focused, hardworking, determined, corruption-free governance and 'Garib Kalyan' policies, has lifted 25 crore Indians out of poverty," he said.
The minister's response comes after Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday, called the January 22 Ram temple ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony a BJP-RSS event.
Former Congress president said in a presser, "The RSS and the BJP have made the 22nd January function a completely political Narendra Modi function. It's a RSS BJP function and I think that is why the Congress President said that he would not go to the function. We are open to all religions, all practices".
Earlier, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, his predecessor Sonia Gandhi, and the party’s Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had declined the invitation to attend the event.
The Pran Pratishtha programme is scheduled for January 22 at 12:20 pm, on the auspicious Abhijit Muhurta of Paush Shukla Dwadashi.