Shankaracharya defends Rahul over Hindu remark

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The seer Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Sarswati on Sunday defended Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his speech on the Hindu religion.

When asked about Gandhi’s comments by a mediaperson, the pontiff insisted that the Congressman hadn’t called Hindus violent rather said the opposite in his speech in the Lower House of the Parliament.

“When I was told Rahul Gandhi made an anti-Hindu remark, I went looking for his whole speech in the Parliament. I found that he hadn’t said what was claimed. He clearly said that there was no place for violence in Hinduism. Therefore, I think it isn’t right to claim he made anti-Hindu comments and cite sliced and spliced parts from speech as proof. To do so is a crime and propaganda besides. The person doing this should be punished even if he is a mediaperson,” Shankaracharya said, adding that Gandhi had accused the ruling party of making use of hate and violence.