 "The BJP sees red whenever Rahul Gandhi visits a temple")
Rahul Gandhi’s visits to temples and maths, highlighting his Brahmin lineage, and citing the Gita may or may not have contributed to the Congress’ electoral success in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. But they have triggered a spate of censures by liberal commentators who have labelled it ‘soft Hindutva’ and a betrayal of the party’s historic commitment to secularism, pluralism and an inclusive polity.
This criticism is both grossly unfair and wrongheaded. Unfair because Rahul Gandhi has made it amply clear that he and the Congress will have no truck with Hindutva. His unstinted support (against the views of the Kerala
