Cong says BJP spreading mischief over Rahul's talks with Christian priest

The Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of spreading mischief and alleging that the ruling party has turned more desperate ever since the successful launch of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.

The Congress was objecting to a tweet put out by BJP leaders about Rahul Gandhi's conversation with a Christian priest about Jesus being God.

AICC general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said BJP's "hate factory" is sharing tweets about Gandhi which has no relation to the audio.

"An atrocious tweet from the BJP hate factory is doing the rounds. It bears no relation whatsoever to what is recorded in the audio. This is typical BJP mischief that has become more desperate after the successful launch of BharatJodoYatra which is evoking such a huge response," Ramesh tweeted.

"People who were responsible for the killing of Mahatma Gandhi and the murders of people like Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh are raising questions! What a morbid joke! Such attempts to damage the spirit of #BharatJodoYatra will fail miserably," he said in another tweet.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, while sharing the video of Gandhi with a priest, said, "George Ponnaiah who met Rahul Gandhi says 'Jesus is the only God unlike Shakti (& other Gods)'."

"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," Poonawalla tweeted.

Gandhi is undertaking the 3,570-km 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' to connect with people across the country while seeking to strengthen the Congress party, which has suffered successive electoral defeats in the last few years.