Robert Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi, defended Rahul Gandhi’s absence at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, stating that their family does not believe in public displays of religion. Participating in such events would cause disruption and inconvenience to pilgrims due to VIP arrangements, Mr Vadra explained.

“If we go to Mahakumbh, there could be disruption and pilgrims’ inconvenience due to VIP arrangements… we can go at any time. We don’t do anything for public display. We don’t have to show how secular we are,” Mr Vadra said in an interview with IANS.

Mr Vadra criticised the practice of “mixing religion with politics”, saying: “My belief is that we should not indulge in religious acts for public display or indulge in politics of show off. So, I believe Rahul Gandhi does not undertake religious visits for public display; he can go to any holy place whenever he decides to, and also, there should be no inconvenience to others.”

Regarding the ban on offering ‘namaz’ on roads or rooftops in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district, Mr Vadra said people turn to their faith in times of difficulty.

“Whenever a person is in trouble, he remembers his God, not a minister, because no minister is going to come at that time. Those who go to the temple or mosque remember the difficult times and pray so that their troubles are averted,” he said.

“If the BJP indulges in politics of religion or divides on religious lines by saying that ‘namaz’ cannot be offered and meat shops should be closed or the names of places named after Aurangzeb should be changed, then this kind of politics is harmful. This will not bring progress, and everyone will be divided,” Mr Vadra said. 

“The way Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says ‘batoge to katoge’ (if you are divided, you will suffer)… if any Chief Minister has such thinking, then we will never be able to move forward,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)