Don't read political meaning in Rahul's temple visits: Cong

The Congress today said that no political meaning should be read into party vice president Rahul Gandhi's visit to temples during his Gujarat visit.

"I don't think you should read political meaning into that. I think there is much else that is happening in his visit to Gujarat. I think we should focus on that," Congress' senior spokesperson P Chidambaram said here.

Asked about Gandhi's visit to various temples ahead of Gujarat assembly elections, the former Union minister said it is "out of courtesy" that all politicians during their visits to their constituencies visit various places of worship at the request of their supporters.
 

"We have always held that each one is entitled to practice his own faith, we treat all faiths equal. That is the position of the Congress party. From the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, that is the stance of the Congress party," he said, while dismissing suggestions that the temple visits were an attempt to woo Hindu voters.

The Congress leader said if on a visit to a constituency or a state, the local leadership and people there suggest visits to a temple or a mosque or a church, "it is natural to oblige".

"Every elected politician does that all the time...you do it as a matter of courtesy," he said, adding that he also does the same and visits mosques or other religious places on the request of locals.