"Buddha is considered Lord Vishnu's avatar, Buddhism established here but you do not believe in it": Kharge stirs fresh row

New Delhi [India], April 26 : Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a fresh attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioning his stance on Buddhism during an interview with News 24 on Friday.
In the interview, Kharge, who is a follower of Buddhism, delved into the inauguration ceremony of Buddha Vihar in Karnataka's Gulbarga in 2009, which was established by the Siddharth Vihar Trust of which he is the founder-chairman.
He said that the inauguration was attended by then President Prathiba Patil while drawing parallels with the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 this year which drew criticism for allegedly not inviting President Droupadi Murmu.
"What did you do, whom did you invite for the Pran Pratishtha? Did you give invitations to the leaders of every opposition party? You are doing everything as per your wish, and yet that temple is not even one-third complete. Now there has been some improvement as far as the construction is concerned. Who should have inaugurated it? As per the Hindu customs, who should have carried out the Pran Pratishtha?" Kharge questioned PM Modi for doing Pran Prathistha of Ram Temple.
"For example, I established Buddha Vihar in Gulbarga, then who was called for it? Buddha is considered the 9th incarnation of Lord Vishnu but they (BJP) don't come near Buddha. You know in Uttarakhand it has been imposed that if someone wants to adopt Buddhism they should approach the District Magistrate. That is a religion of this country, that was established in this country, which has been accepted all over the world, but you (PM Modi) do not believe in it. Now they are attacking us. But what did I do at that time, I witnessed it from a distance while the 'pratishtha' was done by Dalai Lama and then president of India Prathibha Patil was also present there," he added.
He further alleged that Lord Ram's name was used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to "garner votes".
"Everyone has different faith, but you (PM Modi) repeatedly say that we are against Ram. What is the purpose of being against Ram? What will we achieve? In the name of Lord Ram, they are garnering votes and not propagating Lord Ram. Always saying the wrong things. And will say it a thousand times so that all lies look like truth. And Modi ji is the expert in it," Kharge said during the interview.