Bengaluru: Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s visits to temples in whichever state he campaigns, has landed him in yet another controversy. This time, the row pertains to the visit of the AICC president to Narasimhaswamy temple at Kanakagiri after reportedly consuming non-vegetarian food.
The Opposition BJP, which has been criticising Mr Gandhi for his ‘soft Hindutva’ approach, which began during the Gujarat polls, has pounced on him with the party’s CM candidate and state president, B.S. Yeddyurappa tweeting,
“After Siddaramaiah visited Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara temple after consuming non-vegetarian food, now Mr Gandhi has taken the darshan of Narasimhaswamy. Every time, why does the Congress like to hurt the sentiments of Hindus? Yours is majaavada (enjoyment)."
In fact regional TV channels ran footage showing food items which looked like chicken pieces but Congress leaders claimed it was a potato dish.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah sharply reacted to this and said this was not an issue at all. “Food is a personal choice, so no one should debate this. And Mr Gandhi did not consume non-vegetarian food before visiting the temple,” he asserted.
Two months back, Mr Siddaramaiah himself admitted that he had consumed non-vegetarian food and then visited a temple. However, he later clarified that he did not go into the sanctum sanctorum of the famed Manjunatheswara temple at Dharmasthala.
