Rahul Gandhi accused the Prime Minister and the RSS of dividing people
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday offered prayers at a temple of Lord Ayyappa and a Muslim shrine dedicated to Vavarswami at Erumeli, an important centre connected to Sabarimala pilgrimage. He later slammed the BJP-RSS and LDF while campaigning in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Idukki districts.
The Congress leader hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP's ideological mentor RSS, accusing them of dividing people on the lines of religion.
Speaking at an election rally organised in front of the two places of worship situated on two sides of the road at Erumeli in Kottayam district, Gandhi hailed the practice of people visiting the Vavar mosque and the Ayyappa temple at Erumeli before heading to the Sabarimala temple.
"To live happily and peacefully and protect each other's interests--this idea is the biggest gift you can give to this country today," he said.
Wearing the traditional black dress and bead-chain and smearing ''bhasmam'', the holy ash, on forehead, chest and arms, Hindu pilgrims visit the mosque and offer prayers, reviving the local myth of Lord Ayyappa's friendship with Vavar, a Muslim saint, during the two-month long annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala.
Mr Gandhi accused the Prime Minister and the RSS of dividing people on the lines of religion.
"This is the idea that is under attack in India. Our Prime Minister and the RSS spends their whole time and whole life trying to dig up this road (the road to religious harmony). They create hatred and anger so that people who believe in one idea fight with people who believe in the other idea," Mr Gandhi alleged, speaking from the top of a roofless campaign vehicle.
He claimed India's inherent pluralism is under attack from the RSS-BJP which has blocked socio-economic progress.
"We have to rid our country of this divisive hurdle," he said.
Mr Gandhi's Erumeli visit comes at a time when the opposition parties are targeting the state's CPI(M)-led LDF over Sabarimala women entry issue in the election campaign.
Kerala had witnessed massive protests during the Sabarimala pilgrimage season in 2018 following the state government's decision to implement a Supreme Court verdict, permitting women of all age groups into the hill shrine.