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Rahul Gandhi Stopped From Entering Temple In Congress-Ruled Assam, Blames RSS

'Stopped' From Entering Temple In Assam, Angry Rahul Says BJP's Political Style 'Unacceptable'
Congress party Vice President Rahul Gandhi arrives to address the media outside the party headquarters in New Delhi, India, Friday, May 16, 2014. In a campaign led by Gandhi, the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Indian prime ministers, the Indian National Congress party suffered the most crushing defeat in its 128-year history Friday as the results of India's general election were released. The next prime minister will be Narendra Modi, who led the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party to a solid victory, in part by seizing on the perception that Rahul Gandhi was little more than a crown prince awaiting his prize. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
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Congress party Vice President Rahul Gandhi arrives to address the media outside the party headquarters in New Delhi, India, Friday, May 16, 2014. In a campaign led by Gandhi, the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Indian prime ministers, the Indian National Congress party suffered the most crushing defeat in its 128-year history Friday as the results of India's general election were released. The next prime minister will be Narendra Modi, who led the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party to a solid victory, in part by seizing on the perception that Rahul Gandhi was little more than a crown prince awaiting his prize. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

NEW DELHI -- Rahul Gandi today claimed that he was stopped from entering a temple in Barpeta by RSS workers during his recent visit to Assam, saying this was BJP's style of politics which was "unacceptable".

A furious Congress Vice President, who said he wanted to raise three issues, also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy being not invited to an event to be attended by him in Kollam on Tuesday, asserting he has "insulted" the people of the state.

Rahul was interacting with reporters while taking part in a protest by the Congress outside Parliament House over the law and order situation in Punjab.

"When I went to Assam I wanted to visit a temple in Barpeta district. And at the temple the RSS people they stopped me entering the temple. This is the way the BJP operates. They made the woman there stand in front of me and told me that I cannot enter into the temple," he said, and asked, "Who are they to stop me?"

Rahul, who was in Berpeta last Friday, said he visited the temple later in the evening when the RSS workers had left the place.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi yesterday alleged that BJP and RSS had conspired to not allow Rahul to enter Barpeta Satra during his visit to the state.

On the Chandy issue, Rahul alleged the Prime Minister has insulted the people of Kerala, claiming he has "stopped our chief minister" from going to a function.

"Chief Minister of Kerala represents the people of Kerala. Chief Minister of Kerala is the voice of the people of Kerala and the Prime Minister had insulted that voice. This is simply not acceptable to us," he said.

A controversy had erupted last week over the decision of SNDP, an organisation of backward Ezhava community, to exclude Chandy from attending the unveiling of former Chief Minister R Sankar's statue by the prime minister in Kollam on Tuesday.

Chandy in a press note had stated that he was "deeply saddened" over him being kept away from the function following a request of Vellappally Natesan, organiser of the event.

Referring to issues relating to Punjab, Rahul alleged that innocent people have been butchered in the state.

"You are all aware what has happened in Punjab. Innocent people have been butchered. This is completely out of order, out of line," he said. The Akali Dal-BJP combine is in power in Punjab.

The Congress Vice President concluded by saying that the BJP has to change its style of functioning.

"Whatever has happened is not acceptable to people of Kerala, not acceptable to people of Punjab, not acceptable to people of Assam," Rahul said.

Chandy had said that though he should have been present at the function being attended by the prime minister and also because Sankar was a former chief minister and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief, he was forced to take the decision to stay away, following the organisers' request.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.