Former Health Minister of Kerala, Shailaja Teacher, has blamed the Congress party and its ‘Soft Hindutva’ for ‘destroying’ India. KK Shailaja harked back to the times of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi as well and also blamed Rahul Gandhi for the same.
CPI(M) leader Shailaja Teacher says that the Gandhis have gone to various Temples, including Shiva Temples, which they should not have done because India is a ‘secular’ country. She called it gimmicks and said that she hopes that the state Congress leadership will not perform such ‘gimmicks’ and ensure a ‘secular’ Kerala.
KK Shailaja was at the helm of the ‘Kerala model’ of tackling Covid-19 which was acknowledged by the press but not so much by her own party. She has been replaced as the health minister in the state.
Following her outburst, Thrippunithura MLA K. Babu of the Congress party asked the speaker to pass a ruling on whether it is wrong to visit Temples. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is known to embark on a ‘Temple-run’ spree ahead of elections in order to garner the Hindu vote.
His visits have been widely criticised as a poll gimmick orchestrated to shun the allegations of minority appeasement against the party. However, it is for the first time that someone has chosen the line of attack as outlined by the CPI(M) leader which appeared to suggest that politicians should not visit Hindu Temples in a secular country.
During the lead up to the 2019 General Elections, Youth Congress workers were spotted slaughtering a calf in full public view. Later, the accused had claimed that he had the approval of the state Congress president.