Spreading half-truths is a crime: Shankaracharya defends Rahul Gandhi

Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, in-charge of Uttarakhand's Jyotir Math, has defended Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent Lok Sabha speech. He emphasised that Hinduism does not promote fear, hatred or falsehoods.

Noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan shared a video on X, in which the Shankaracharya can be heard saying, "When I heard that Rahul Gandhi had made anti-Hindu remarks, I saw his entire video and found out that he has not said anything wrong."

Saraswati further continued, saying:

Saying that Rahul Gandhi's statement was aimed at the party that leads the ruling NDA government at the Centre, and not at Hinduism, Saraswati added, "Gandhi later explained that his remarks were directed at the ruling party, accusing them of promoting violence under the guise of religion."

Senior Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi endorsed what Saraswati said too, writing on X that "Hinduism is what Rahul Gandhi said — fearless, empathetic, peaceful. Hindutva is what PM Modi practices — manipulation , fear and propaganda."

During the discussion on the motion of thanks for the President's address to a joint sitting of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi on Monday, 2 July, stated, "Courage is not exclusive to any single religion. All our religions speak of courage... Shivji says 'daro mat, darao mat', displays the abhay mudra (right hand held upright with the palm facing outwards, to signify freedom from fear and mercy), and advocates ahimsa."

Gandhi continued, “All our great men have spoken about non-violence and eliminating fear… But there are people who call themselves Hindu who only talk about violence, hatred, untruth.”

These comments by the Congress leader sparked protests from the NDA's treasury benches.

Rahul Gandhi responded by asserting that the BJP is not the sole representative of Hindus. He emphasised that neither the BJP, nor the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), nor Prime Minister Modi represent the entirety of Hindu society.

Rahul Gandhi clarified that his remarks were specifically directed at the BJP.

Later, a version of Gandhi's speech with specific sections carefully expunged was shared by members and supporters of the ruling party, even as parts of his speech were expunged from the Lok Sabha records — leading to him writing to the Speaker, Om Birla, in protest.

Of course, this wasn't a new thing that the Leader of the Opposition had experienced.