Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaks during the National Convention on Bharat Jodo Abiyaan in New Delhi on February 6, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

No religion talks of spreading hate and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cannot be a religious leader for the language he uses, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi is reported to have said on Monday while interacting with a group of civil society activists as a follow-up of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

In a closed door session at the Constitution Club, coordinated by Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav, Mr. Gandhi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging in adharam [impiety] in U.P. and asserted that anyone who wears a saffron robe doesn’t become a religious leader.

The Congress reportedly said Mr. Adityanath was “insulting” the history of his Gorakhnath math by the kind of language he was using.

“I am sorry, he [Mr. Adityanath] is not a religious leader, he is a common thug,” Mr. Gandhi was quoted by one of the attendees, reported the news agency, PTI.

Responding to a question on how the Congress would deal with the “storm of religion” in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Gandhi said this was not about religion as he understands his religion, Hinduism, and has also studied other faiths such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism.

“This is not dharam but adharam,” Mr. Gandhi was quoted as saying while criticising the BJP. Talking about his experience in the 3,500-odd km Kanniyakumari-Kashmir padaytara, the Congress leader is said to have mentioned that when some people were raising ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans, he asked them to chant ‘Jai Siya Ram’ (Glory to Sita and Rama).

He told the gathering that Bharat Jodo Yatra was the first step and he has a few other ideas that he would reveal in due course.

(With PTI inputs)