New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed a pandemonium over Rahul Gandhi’s very first address as Leader of Opposition for his remarks on "Hindus" forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene.
Speaking during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, Rahul Gandhi said, "In the history of Hindustan, there are three foundational ideas. Modiji in one of his speeches had said that Hindustan had never attacked anybody.
"There is a reason, as this country is non-violent by nature. All our great men have always spoken and practised non-violence seeking to bring an end to fear."
Invoking Lord Shiva he said, even the Destroyer among the Trimurti has never used his trident for violence but only the Abhay Mudra (Benevolence).
The Rae Bareli MP said: "However, those who identify themselves as Hindus only talk about violence, hatred and untruth. Aap Hindu ho hi nahi…(You are not Hindus)."
This drew a sharp reaction from the Treasury benches as they demanded an apology from Gandhi.
Objecting to Gandhi’s remark, Prime Minister Modi stood up and said "calling the entire Hindu community violent was very serious".