BJP Targets Congress With Activist Neha Bora's Video On Priests And Temples

In a sharp attack on student activist Neha Bora, the BJP accused her of slandering the Hindu faith and echoing a Congress "anti-Hindu tirade" after she alleged that women require protection from the "Brahmanical system" and that priests commit rapes inside temples.

BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said Bora's remarks sounded the same as those made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and that her statement reflected an ideological campaign against Sanatan dharma.

"The comments are inspired by Rahul Gandhi because if you recall Rahul had said that girls are molested inside temples," Bhandari told NDTV.

In 2014, Gandhi had reacted to the gang rape of a woman in Delhi with remarks that people who go to temples to worship goddesses also molest women in buses. More recently, Gandhi also clashed with the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over women's rights, describing the organisation on social media as an "all-male, anti-constitutional cult".

Bhandari also recalled more political battles over internal security terminology that he said "exposed the Congress party's anti-Hindu tirade."

"It's the same Congress party which has used terms like 'Hindu terror'. Recall that Neha Bora is inspired by Islamists in Bangladesh and this tells you that the entire Congress ideology and thinking are against the unity and integrity of India because they are slandering Sanatan and they are targeting the Hindu faith, which reflects their communal mindset. This further tells you that the DNA of the Congress party is anti-Hindu, anti-Constitution, anti-Sanatan," Bhandari said.

The phrase "Hindu terror" and "saffron terror" had triggered fierce political flashpoints during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government when former Union home ministers P Chidambaram and Sushilkumar Shinde used the terms between 2010 and 2013 while discussing investigations into blast cases.

The latest row erupted after Bora of the All India Students' Association (AISA) made the remarks while backing an impeachment resolution against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Alleging deliberate voter deletion and procedural violations in the electoral rolls, Bora had earlier claimed that the "sanctity of vote was shredded". Just after that remark, she made the comments on caste and religious institutions.

"Protection is absolutely necessary - and it is precisely from the Brahmanical system that such protection is required. This is a system which posits that the poor, the oppressed, animals and women are all deserving of subjugation and abuse. It is the very same system under which even Brahmin women are unsafe and fall victim to rape. Priests commit rapes inside temples. We have witnessed such instances..." Bora said.

A January 2018 case cited by Bora had sparked nationwide protests after an eight-year-old girl from the nomadic Bakarwal community in Jammu and Kashmir was held captive inside a village temple and gang-raped before being murdered.

A special court in June 2019 convicted six men and sentenced three accused - including the temple caretaker, Sanji Ram - to life imprisonment.

Bora's remarks also drew criticism on social media over the sweeping nature of her allegations against an entire community. "Such serious allegations and sweeping statements against an entire community have sparked questions about the language used in public discourse. Accountability is important, but so is responsible speech," the Instagram handle 'Sanatanikids' said in a post. 

It said that if there are cases of sexual abuse, the accused must face strict legal action. "However, branding an entire community as a threat to women is deeply problematic. Women's safety should never become a tool for community-based vilification," said the group that describes itself as a platform to push back against anti-Hindu propaganda with facts.