{
  "id": 19893302,
  "title": "‘Khuda ek, Bhagwan ek’: Why a Rajasthan BJP veteran recited ‘kalma’ at a poll rally",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/khuda-ek-bhagwan-ek-why-a-rajasthan-bjp-veteran-recited-kalma-at-a",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-14T00:53:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/rajasthan-bjp-veteran-rajendra-rathore-poll-rally-kalma-10962341/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rajendra Rathore, a BJP veteran and former Rajasthan MLA with seven consecutive election victories between 1990 and 2023, recently recited the Islamic declaration of faith, \"Khuda ek, Bhagwan ek\" (There is one God), at a public gathering in Churu. This act, aimed at showcasing his secular credentials, was made before his daughter-in-law Kanika Singh, who was contesting in the Churu Zila Parishad polls. The gathering was in support of Kanika, and Rathore greeted attendees with \"Assalamalaikum\" in an apparent appeal to the local Muslim electorate. However, state BJP president Madan Rathore dismissed the recitation as not being the actual Islamic kalma, stating that he, unlike Rajendra, remembered each word of the kalma. Kanika's greeting of \"Salamalaikum\" elicited a similar response from Madan Rathore, who stated that it was not a sin to respond with \"Namaste\" or \"Namaskar.\" Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi criticized the BJP's move, accusing them of dividing society for the sake of votes, stating that they do not give tickets to minority candidates in the Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Rajendra Rathore, BJP veteran, recited Islamic declaration at poll rally",
    "Aimed to show secular credentials, greeted Muslim electorate",
    "Madan Rathore dismissed recitation as not actual Islamic kalma"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The veteran leader’s attempt to signal secularism through religious inclusive gestures highlights the internal tension between local electoral outreach and the party’s rigid ideological stance on minority customs.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}