BJP attacks Rahul Gandhi over meeting with controversial Tamil pastor, asks if it is 'Bharat Jodo' with 'Bharat todo' icons

Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 10 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came under sharp attack from the BJP over a video of his "conversation" with controversial catholic priest George Ponnaiah on Friday during a break in Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra with the party leaders asking if it is 'Bharat Jodo with Bharat Todo icons'.
Congress hit back and accused BJP of "mischievous lies".
A video clip of Rahul Gandhi's interaction with the Tamil Nadu pastor went viral, in which Rahul Gandhi can be heard asking, "Jesus Christ is a form of God? Is that right?" to which the Tamil Nadu priest George Ponniah replied, "He is the real God."
Ponniah goes on to say, "God reveals him(self) as a man, a real person...not like Shakti...so we see a human person."
Ponniah has a history of delivering provocative statements that have landed him in trouble in the past. He was arrested last year in July in Kallikudi, Madurai for allegedly making a 'hate speech' against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, DMK Minister and others.
Rahul Gandhi met him at the Muttidichan Parai Church, Puliyoorkurichy where he camped for a morning break on Friday.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla attacked Rahul Gandhi, "George Ponnaiah who met Rahul Gandhi says Jesus is the only God unlike Shakti (& other Hindu Gods)"
He further said, "Earlier he was arrested for his bigotry remark, when he said, "I wear shoes because impurities of Bharat Mata should not contaminate us."
Poonawalla took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi's meeting with the priest, saying, "Bharat Jodo with Bharat Todo icons?"
Pastor George Ponnaiah was arrested last year in July for his hate speech targeting the Hindu community. He made contentious remarks in a meeting on July 18, 2021, at Arumanai in Tamil Nadu.
BJP leader Amit Malviya also attacked Rahul Gandhi over his meeting with Ponniah.
"If meeting a controversial pastor, who is known for his visceral disdain for the majority community and their beliefs, Rahul Gandhi's idea of "Bharat Jodo", then this Yatra is nothing but a sham. How can indulging faith supremacists serve the larger society and bring cohesion?" he said in a tweet .
"It is 4th day of Rahul Gandhi's Yatra. Someone who hops temples before elections, didn't have a single visit to a Hindu temple or institution in his itinerary, but had all the time for controversial Hindu hate mongers. Does Rahul Gandhi's idea of India have no place for Hindus?" he asked.
Soon after the video of Rahul Gandhi's meeting with controversial Tamil pastor George Ponnaiah went viral, Congress hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging that the ruling party at the Centre has been spreading lies.
"It is a completely bogus video. What was said in the conversation has nothing to do with the tweet. We have issued the full text of what was said. It is typical mischievous lies being spread by the BJP to damage the spirit of Bharat Jodo Yatra," party leader Jairam Ramesh said.
He accused BJP of dividing the country.
"We are trying to unite people and to bring people together because India is being broken because of economic inequality, social polarisation and political centralisation. The BJP divides and Congress unites. BJP believes in uniformity while congress unity. BJP rejects India's diversity but Congress celebrates India's diversity."
"We are determined that this Bharat Jodo Yarta will be a huge success, it will create the new political culture and it will strengthen the Congress party organisation. India needs a strong vibrant Congress and the Bharat Jodo Yatra is Hanuman to create 'Sanjeevani' for Congress," he added.
Taking to Twitter, Ramesh said that the video bears no relation whatsoever to what is recorded in the audio.
"An atrocious tweet from the BJP hate factory is doing the rounds. It bears no relation whatsoever to what is recorded in the audio. This is typical BJP mischief that has become more desperate after the successful launch of Bharat Jodo Yatra which is evoking such a huge response," he said in a tweet.
Congress leader Pawan Khera referred to the story about Gautam Buddha and Angulimal in the context of Rahul Gandhi's meeting with Ponniah.
"The interaction between Angulimal & Gautam Buddha not only transformed Angulimal, it also enriched our civilisational wisdom. Various streams of thought have flowed into this ocean of wisdom called India," Khera said in a tweet.
Malviya, however, took a swipe at Khera's remarks.
"According to Manish Tewari's friend, Rahul Gandhi is Angulimal and hate spewing pastor Bhagwan Buddha or is it the other way round? Which ever you look at it, this is an insult to Bhagwan Buddha. Those who have no idea of either Sanatan Dharma or Congress are pontificating now...," he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Jodhpur, also took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, saying that the Congress leader is leading a campaign to unite the nation- the Bharat Jodo Yatra "wearing a foreign t-shirt".
The party had also attacked the Congress on social media, claiming that Rahul Gandhi, who has been raising the issue of inflation during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', was himself wearing a T-shirt worth Rs 41,257 and that too of a foreign brand when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been leading the mission of 'make-in India'.
Shah referred to the "India is not a nation" reference in Rahul Gandhi's speech in parliament.
"Rahul Gandhi has set out with Bharat Jodo Yatra wearing foreign t-shirt. I am reminding a speech by Rahul Gandhi and Congressmen in his Parliament. Rahul Baba had said that India is not a nation. Rahul Gandhi, in which book have you read this? This is the nation for which lakhs and lakhs of people have sacrificed their lives. Rahul Gandhi needs to study India's history," Shah said addressing Booth President Sankalp Mahasammelan in Jodhpur.