BJP challenges Congress leadership over festival remarks

UPDATE - follow-up to BJP slams Kharge for calling Diwali 'Eid of joy', dares Congress to card Eid 'Diwali of joy': The Bharatiya Janata Party has stepped up its criticism against the Congress leadership following recent festival remarks made by party president Mallikarjun Kharge. During weekend Deepavali greetings, Mr. Kharge described the festival as 'khushiyon ka Eid', prompting sharp rebukes from multiple senior saffron party figures.

Reactions

BJP national media co-in-charge Pradeep Bhandari accused the main opposition party of prioritizing vote bank politics during a major Hindu celebration, alleging that the leadership maintains an anti-Sanatani mindset under the Gandhi-Vadra family. National spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia questioned why the Congress party felt the need to alter the identity of Hindu festivals under the banner of secularism, challenging both Mr. Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to display similar courage by referring to Eid as a 'Diwali of joy'. Another spokesperson, Tuhin Sinha, added that Muslims observe Eid twice yearly, and remarked that the opposition's phrasing implies celebrating Hindu festivals multiple times annually, linking the rhetoric to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's label of the party.

Context

Political parties in India frequently spar over cultural symbolism, statements regarding religious festivals, and accusations of appeasement politics during major festive periods. Such public verbal exchanges often highlight deeper ideological fault lines between ruling and opposition formations on national identity and secularism.