Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati ‘expels’ Rahul Gandhi from Hinduism over ‘Manusmriti protects rapists’ comments, says he should be banned from temples
Jyotirmath Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati has ‘expelled’ Congress MP Rahul Gandhi from Hinduism over his remarks on Manusmriti. The Shankaracharya on Saturday said that Rahul Gandhi’s comments on Mannusmriti in Parliament insulted Sanatan Dharma, and as he failed to reply to requests seeking clarification, he has been ‘excommunicated’ from Hinduism.
The Shankaracharya said at the Shankaracharya Ashram in Badrinath that he waited three months for a reply from Rahul Gandhi clarifying his claims that Manusmriti protects rapists. The seer said that a reminder was also sent to the Congress MP, but he ignored to respond. He said that Rahul Gandhi was acting against Hinduism.
The Hindu seer said, “During his speech, he first targeted ruling party members and then made the comment against Manusmriti. It is our dharm-grantha. Pointing a finger at the ruling party’s benches, Gandhi had said it is written in ‘your book’, which means he does not regard himself as a Hindu. A person who does not regard Manusmriti as his text cannot be a Hindu.”
The Shankaracharya added, “we took a decision that he should be banned from temples and priests should not perform pooja for him.” During the Kumbh Mela earlier this year, the seer had threatened to oust Gandhi from Hinduism over his derogatory remark on Manusmriti.
In December last year in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that Manusmriti protects rapists, contrasting the Hindu book with the constitution. He had claimed that for BJP, Manusmriti is superior to the constitution.
Referring to the Hathras rape incident in his Parliament speech, Gandhi said that he visited the victim’s house where he was told that the rapists were roaming freely, while the victim’s family was confined to their house. “Where is this written in the Constitution? It is written in your book, it is written in Manusmriti. It is not written in the Constitution. And if you say that you rule in UP and the Constitution does not apply there. Manusmriti applies there,” Rahul Gandhi had said.
Notably, the controversial Shankaracharya had supported and defended Rahul Gandhi’s similar attack on Hinduism in parliament last year. He had claimed that Rahul Gandhi’s speech did not contradict Hinduism.
He had said, “We heard Rahul Gandhi’s entire speech. He is clearly saying that there is no place for violence in Hinduism. I saw his entire video and found out that he had not said anything wrong.” He had claimed that video of Rahul Gandhi’s speech was edited and only a part of the speech was being circulated to defame the Congress leader.
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