Row as Rahul meets 'hate speech' priest in in Tamil Nadu

New Delhi, September 10

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to a controversial priest in Tamil Nadu on Saturday during his “Bharat Jodo Yatra” triggered a war of words between the ruling BJP and Congress with the former accusing Rahul of meeting a man previously arrested for “hate speech”.

Was Arrested in 2021

• George Ponnaiah was arrested in July last year for his alleged hate remarks
• BJP leaders slam Rahul and tweet a video clip of purported conversation between the two
• Congress hits back, accuses BJP of getting restive over ‘good response’ to yatra

George Ponnaiah, a Catholic priest whom Rahul met at Muttidichan Parai Church in Puliyoorkurichy, was arrested in July last year for his alleged remarks that Tamil Nadu ministers PK Sekar Babu and T Mano Thangaraj “should not forget that they did not get Hindu votes and that their victory was the alms given by Christians and Muslims”. Soon after, BJP leaders tweeted a video clip of a conversation between Rahul and the priest where Rahul is purportedly heard asking Ponnaiah, “So Jesus Christ is a form of God? Is that right?” The pastor reportedly replied, “He is the real God. God reveals himself as a man, a real person not ‘Shakti’, so we see a human person.”

Taking on Rahul, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said, “If meeting a controversial pastor who is known for his visceral disdain for the majority community and his beliefs is Rahul’s idea of ‘Bharat Jodo’ then the yatra is a sham. How can indulging faith supremacists serve the larger society and bring cohesion?”

Hitting back, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh called the tweet atrocious. “This is typical BJP mischief that has become more desperate after the successful launch of the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he added.