Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Tuesday attacked Rahul Gandhi questioning his faith and saying the Congress leader should use 'Feroze' as his surname, and not Gandhi, as per the 'gotra' system in Hindu religion.
The Nehru-Gandhi family does not understand Hindu religion, the minister alleged, as she hit out at the Nehru-Gandhi family for maintaining silence over DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks against Sanatan dharma.
"In our culture, the dharma of a person is established on the basis of the father's dharma. Gotra of a person is considered on the basis of the father's gotra," Jyoti told PTI when asked for her comment on the ongoing row over the DMK leader's remarks.
"But, nothing is known about the Nehru family. Sometimes the mother's gotra is accepted, sometimes the father's. Then, what would they understand about Hindu dharma," she charged.
The minister said Rahul would not have Gandhi as his surname, had he been following the 'gotra' system.
"He wouldn't have been writing Gandhi as his surname. He would have been writing Feroze as his surname. His paternal grandfather was Feroze... He should tell the truth," she said.
"Tell your reality as to which religion you belong to. Tell people if you are Hindu, Parsi, or Christian," the politician added.
Feroze Gandhi was the husband of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. The couple had two sons, Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi, the latter being Rahul Gandhi's father.
The BJP leader also hit out at the other members of the opposition's INDIA alliance and said it's "unfortunate" none of them have condemned Stalin's remarks so far.
"It means that they decided in their Mumbai meeting to attack the Hindu religion," she charged, saying people will give them a befitting reply in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections for it.
The minister said that Sanatan dharma continues to survive despite attempts to obliterate it in the past.
"Sanatan religion will not cease to exist by Stalin's remark. The more you attack the Hindu religion, the stronger it will become," she added.
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