Cong questions Amit Shah for calling himself a Hindu, says he's a Jain

Surat: A day after Rahul Gandhi broke his silence on Somnath Temple controversy and termed his family as devotee of Lord Shiva, the Congress party launched an attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief and said that Amit Shah calls himself Hindu, but he is a Jain.

"Amit Shah calls himself a Hindu, but he is a Jain. As far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, Shiv Bhakti is being practiced in his home since a long time. Indira Gandhi used to wear rudraksha, which was only worn by those who worship Shiva," Congress leader Raj Babbar told ANI on Friday.

A political slugfest erupted ahead of Gujarat Assembly elections, after Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said his family is devotee of Lord Shiva, but does not believe in using it for political gain.

Rahul, while addressing a gathering of his party leader in an amateur video, said religion is a personal affair and should be kept personal.

"My grandmother (Indira Gandhi) used to worship Lord Shiva and my entire family does the same. But, we keep such things private; we normally don't talk about it. We believe that our religion is a personal thing and don't want to trade on Lord Shiva's name. We don't want to make political use of it," he said.

This comes a day after a row erupted over Gandhi's visit to the Somnath Temple in Gujarat, wherein his name was allegedly listed as a non-Hindu visitor in the visitor-book.

The controversy started when party's media coordinator Manoj Tyagi allegedly entered names of Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Ahmed Patel in the special register for non-Hindus visiting the temple.

Soon, the BJP leaders began questioning Congress scion's faith.

The Congress also issued clarification on Twitter saying, "There is only one visitor's book at Somnath Temple that was signed by Congress VP Rahul Gandhi. Any other image being circulated is fabricated. Desperate times call for desperate measures?"