'Congress Ecosystem Eulogises Mahmud Of Ghazni': BJP Hits Out At Hamid Ansari's Remarks

Last Updated:January 30, 2026, 10:31 IST

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the comments were part of a recurring pattern rather than isolated remarks.

Former Vice President Hamid Ansari (Image Credit: X)

The Bharatiya Janata Party launched a pointed attack on the Congress and what it described as the “Congress ecosystem" over remarks by former Vice President Hamid Ansari on medieval rulers Mahmud of Ghazni and the Lodhi dynasty, accusing the Opposition of recasting history and downplaying violence directed at Hindu religious symbols.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the comments were part of a recurring pattern rather than isolated remarks, arguing that they reflected an attempt to sanitise episodes from India’s medieval past.

“After referring to Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid as ‘yuva neta’, the Congress ecosystem and Hamid Ansari are now eulogising Mahmud of Ghazni- the ruler who destroyed and desecrated the Somnath Mandir," Poonawalla said.

He added that the Congress has repeatedly sought to reinterpret medieval history in line with contemporary political narratives.

“The Congress ecosystem eulogises Ghazni, opposes the Somnath Swabhiman Parv, and whitewashes the crimes of Aurangzeb and others who committed atrocities against Hindus," Poonawalla said.

The BJP’s response followed comments made by Ansari in a recent interaction, where he said, “Lodhi and Ghazni were Indian looters and had not come from outside. They were not foreigners. It might be politically convenient to call them foreigners but they were not."

What History Records: Ghazni And Lodhis

Mahmud of Ghazni was the ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire, headquartered in present-day Afghanistan, who led multiple military expeditions into the Indian subcontinent between the late 10th and early 11th centuries. Historians widely characterise these campaigns as raids aimed at plunder and territorial expansion. Contemporary historical accounts also document the destruction of several prominent temples during these incursions, most notably the Somnath temple in present-day Gujarat. Mahmud did not establish a settled kingdom in India and his political base remained outside the subcontinent.

The Lodhi dynasty, which ruled from Delhi between 1451 and 1526, was the final ruling house of the Delhi Sultanate. Founded by Bahlul Lodhi, the dynasty was of Afghan origin, with its rulers tracing their lineage to Pashtun tribes from regions that today form parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. While the Lodhis governed large areas of northern India for several decades and became deeply enmeshed in the subcontinent’s administrative and political structures, historians generally classify them as rulers of foreign origin who established authority through conquest.

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