Irony died a thousand deaths as on the third day of his “Bharat Jodo” Yatra, Congress’ de-facto chief Rahul Gandhi met Christian Pastor George Ponnaiah who was arrested in July last year, for his hate speech against India and the Hindu community.
In his hate speech, Pastor Ponniah spewed venom against Hindus and slandered Bharat Mata, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Speaking at a function jointly organized by Christians and Islamists at a church in Arumanai municipality, Kanyakumari district, Pastor George Ponnaiah took jibes at Tamil BJP MLA M.R. Gandhi saying “He claims he will not step on the ground with footwear because he considers it Bhoomadevi. I wear shoes when I walk outside because I don’t want the dirt of Bharat Matha to touch my body.”
He said that the Tamil Nadu government provides us with free footwear so that we do not get rash or scabies from stepping on Bharat Mata, and that Bhuma Devi is a dangerous woman.
He warned Hindus saying, “We (minorities) were 42% once and now we are 62% of the total population in Kanya Kumari. Soon, our population will cross 70%. We will continue to increase our population and no one can stop it. We tell this as a warning to Hindus. We do not fear BJP or RSS. You cannot stop us.”
He further stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s and Home Minister Amit Shah’s final years will be miserable. “If the God we believe in is still alive, we shall watch Amit Shah and Modi being devoured by dogs and worms”, he had said.
He even said that that no matter how much ever the DMK tries to woo Hindus they won’t vote for the party.
“No Hindu will vote for them (DMK) no matter how many temples the Minister of HR&CE Sekhar Babu visits and performs Kumbabishegam, or how many temples he visits and worships without wearing clothing. Neither Mandaikaadu Amman temple worshipers nor Hindu votes helped the DMK win. DMK won by begging Christians and Muslims. DMK should not forget this. You did not win because of your talent.”, the Christian Pastor said adding that he had told DMK MLA Prince that it was because of Christian Pastor’s direction and Pentecostal staff’s door-to-door campaign the DMK won iin 2021 Assembly Elections.
This hate speech of Pastor Ponnaiah had gone viral on social media. Several Hindu leaders filed complaints across Tamil Nadu and Pastor Ponnaiah went into hiding. He was later traced to Madurai district where he was arrested by the Tamil Nadu police.
In January 2022, the Madras High Court had refused to quash the FIRs filed against the controversial pastor. The court had found that the derogatory remarks he used against ‘Bharat Mata’ and ‘Bhumi Devi’ is an offence under Section 295A of the IPC.
It is this George Ponnaiah who Rahul Gandhi has met during the “Bharat Jodo” Yatra.
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