The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, accusing both parties of insulting Hindu traditions and Indian culture for electoral gain ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Party national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi led the charge at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, listing a series of recent remarks by opposition leaders that he said showed a clear pattern.
Trivedi said the opposition was pursuing what he called minority appeasement, and alleged that the Congress and its INDIA bloc allies had only two ways of doing politics: either insulting Hinduism and Indian culture, or deceiving people in their name. The attack comes as political sparring intensifies in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh polls, with both sides trading charges almost daily.
What Trivedi said
Trivedi trained his fire first on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who had described Diwali as “Khushiyon Ki Eid” in a festive greeting on November 7. The BJP spokesperson said the choice of words showed contempt for India’s religious and cultural traditions.
“Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge referred to Diwali as ‘Khushiyon Ki Eid’, whereas on the other hand, the Indonesian prime minister has no hesitation in extending Diwali greetings. Malaysian President Anwar Ibrahim uses the word Diwali, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai displays the word Diwali. But the Congress president chooses to call it ‘Khushiyon Ki Eid’,” Trivedi said.
He also targeted Congress MP Imran Masood, who has reportedly described Diwali as a “man-made disease”, and questioned the party’s decision to appoint Masood as the Uttar Pradesh working president despite the controversial remarks. According to Trivedi, the appointment reflected the Congress’s political priorities.
Trivedi then turned to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who has described the Indian economy as a “dead economy”. The BJP spokesperson countered that claim by pointing to festive spending, saying gold and silver purchases during Dhanteras were equivalent to the quantity purchased across Europe in three months. He argued that the country’s economic performance and festive purchases contradicted the opposition’s assessment.
The Sonia Gandhi memoir remark
Trivedi also referred to a purported interview of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in which she reportedly recalled being moved to tears after the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The account appears in connection with her newly released memoir, “Belonging: A Journey of Love”.
Questioning the account, Trivedi said there was no live telecast of the demolition, and asked how she could have witnessed the events as described. “The remarks by Kharge, Masood and Sonia Gandhi reflect a broader political approach of the Congress towards Hinduism,” he said.
The BJP leader also took aim at the Samajwadi Party, recalling that its government had ordered firing on kar sevaks during the Ram temple movement, and accusing the party of now engaging in political posturing around Ayodhya. The Samajwadi Party has said it will hold a show of strength in Ayodhya on December 12, and party chief Akhilesh Yadav is expected to visit the temple town.
Three objectives, says BJP
Trivedi framed the attack in broader terms, saying the INDIA bloc had only three objectives: “looting power”, “dividing society” and harbouring “hatred” towards Indian culture and Hinduism. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had repeatedly flagged what he described as the bloc’s “destructive design”.
“These three statements are not isolated incidents. They are clear evidence of what I describe as the Congress party’s organised anti-India and anti-Hindu mindset,” Trivedi alleged, referring to the remarks by Kharge, Masood and Sonia Gandhi.
The BJP has linked all the cited remarks to what it describes as an opposition attempt to consolidate minority votes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections. The state goes to the polls in 2027, and both the BJP and the opposition have already begun positioning themselves, with religion and identity featuring prominently in the early exchanges.
A charged backdrop
Wednesday’s attack did not come out of nowhere. The Congress and the BJP have been locked in a bitter exchange for weeks over the revision of electoral rolls and the proposed delimitation exercise, with the opposition accusing the Election Commission of bias and the BJP accusing the opposition of spreading falsehoods about “vote theft”. Thousands of opposition supporters marched in New Delhi on Sunday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Against that backdrop, the BJP’s latest offensive shifts the argument to cultural ground, an area where the party has traditionally felt confident. The Congress, for its part, has repeatedly accused the BJP of using religion to distract from issues such as price rise and unemployment.
Neither the Congress nor the Samajwadi Party had issued an immediate public response to Trivedi’s remarks in the coverage available on Wednesday evening. With the Uttar Pradesh campaign still months away, the exchange is likely to continue, and both sides are expected to keep trading charges as the election draws closer.
FAQs
What did Sudhanshu Trivedi say on Wednesday?
At a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Trivedi accused the Congress and the Samajwadi Party of insulting Hindu traditions and Indian culture for electoral gains, citing recent remarks by Mallikarjun Kharge, Imran Masood, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
What is the ‘Khushiyon Ki Eid’ remark?
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described Diwali as “Khushiyon Ki Eid” in a festive greeting on November 7. The BJP has called the remark an insult to Hindu culture, while pointing out that leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia greeted people using the word Diwali.
Why is the BJP linking this to the Uttar Pradesh elections?
The BJP alleges the opposition is resorting to minority appeasement to consolidate votes ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The Samajwadi Party plans a show of strength in Ayodhya on December 12.
What did Trivedi say about Sonia Gandhi’s memoir?
Trivedi questioned an account in which Sonia Gandhi reportedly recalled being moved to tears after the Ayodhya demolition on December 6, 1992, saying there was no live telecast of the event. The account is linked to her newly released memoir, “Belonging: A Journey of Love”.
Has the Congress responded to the BJP’s charges?
No immediate public response from the Congress or the Samajwadi Party had appeared in the coverage available on Wednesday evening. The exchange is expected to continue as the Uttar Pradesh campaign builds up.
The row underlines how central questions of religion and identity remain to India’s political debate, and how quickly a festive greeting can turn into a full-blown political confrontation.
