india

Updated: Sep 18, 2019 12:58 IST

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh once again caused embarrassment to the party on Tuesday by saying that people “today are wearing saffron robes and raping”, leading to protests from several quarters within the BJP. He was speaking at a conference of saints at Bhopal.

“God won’t forgive those defaming the Sanatan Dharma. Today, people are wearing saffron robes and raping; rapes are being committed inside temples, is this our religion,” Singh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

This comes among a long line of gaffes of the former aide to Rahul Gandhi.

Just earlier this month, Digvijaya had caused another debate when he said the mourning day of Muharram was an auspicious occasion. “Our salute to all the Muslim brothers and sisters on the auspicious occasion of Muharram,” read his tweet.

In August 2016, he described Kashmir as “India-occupied Kashmir” while he was criticising PM Modi. “Prime Minister Modi seems more concerned about Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which is welcome, than he is interested in holding talks with India’s Kashmiris. Boosting trust among Kashmiris, whether they belong to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or India-occupied Kashmir, is possible only through dialogue,” he said. Digvijaya later said that he meant to say that Modi is not worried about ‘India’s Kashmir’ but worried about ‘Pak-occupied Kashmir’.

In 2013, he had caused the Congress major embarrassment by claiming that the Batla House encounter in Delhi was fake. Digvijaya had even asked for a judicial inquiry into the encounter.