‘Bharat Jodo with Bharat Todo icons?’ BJP questions Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Jesus’ video; ‘Congress says, ‘Morbid’

The BJP on Saturday stirred a fresh controversy over Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra raising questions over a video of Gandhi interacting with Father George Ponnaiah. “This man was arrested for his Hindu hatred earlier — he also said ‘I wear shoes because impurities of Bharat Mata should not contaminate us’. Bharat Jodo with Bharat Todo icons?” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala tweeted posting the video of the interaction.

In the video, Rahul Gandhi can be seen discussing Jesus Christ and whether he was the real God or a form of God. “He is a real God revealed as a human person. Not like Shakti,” Faher George Ponnaiah said.

Bharat Jodo Yatra began on September 7 from Kanyakumari amid flak from the BJP which questioned the need for the march and asked the Congress to unite the party first. After the march began, the containers for the night stay of the Congress leaders and the Burberry t-shirt of the Congress became the bone of contention between the BJP and the Congress, before Saturday’s attacks based on the George Ponnaiah video.

Who is Father George Ponnaiah? A catholic priest Ponnaiah was arrested in 2021 for his alleged comments against PM Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and some DMK leaders.