Imran Masood's 'Diwali A Human-Induced Disease' Remark Sparks Row; BJP's Pradeep Bhandari Hits Out At Congress | Videos

BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Congress MP Imran Masood over his remark describing Diwali and pollution as a "man-made disease", accusing the Congress leadership of insulting Sanatan Dharma and engaging in vote-bank politics.

Reacting to Masood's statement, Bhandari alleged that those driven by vote-bank politics repeatedly insult Sanatan Dharma while supporting the offering of namaz on roads and referring to Diwali as a disease.

"Those driven by vote-bank politics repeatedly insult Sanatan Dharma. They support offering namaz on roads while referring to Diwali as a disease. These remarks reflect the thinking of the Congress party and the Gandhi-Vadra family, as expressed by Imran Masood," Bhandari said.

He further referred to previous controversies involving Congress leaders and their remarks concerning Hindus, the Batla House encounter and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

"The same Imran Masood and the Gandhi-Vadra family have previously made controversial remarks about Hindus, compared them to terrorists, and cried over the Batla House encounter and called the 26/11 attacks an RSS conspiracy," he alleged.

Describing the Congress's approach as communal and driven by vote-bank considerations, Bhandari said such politics posed a serious threat to the country's constitutional values.

He also invoked the Congress party's electoral performance in the last three Lok Sabha elections, claiming that voters had rejected the party in 2014, 2019 and 2024 and would continue to do so in future elections.

The BJP spokesperson's remarks came after Masood's comments on Diwali and air pollution triggered a political controversy amid deteriorating air quality in Delhi-NCR.

The Congress MP had reportedly said, "Diwali ho ya pradushan jo hai, manav janit rog hai" (whether it is Diwali or pollution, it is a human-induced disease), while stressing the need for public awareness to tackle pollution.

Masood had also argued that governments alone could not address the pollution crisis and that people needed to take responsibility for keeping the air clean.