New Delhi, April 8 (IANS): Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, on Monday reiterated the party’s ‘secular’ credentials and asserted that it doesn’t believe in religion-based politics.

In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Robert Vadra said that Congress is a secular party which treats all religions with equal respect.

When questioned on Congress declining an invite for the Ram Mandir’s Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya held on January 22, he dodged a direct answer and attributed it to the party’s penchant for staying away from religion-based politics.

“Congress always stays away from religion-based politics. It doesn’t want to see divisions in the country on religious lines,” Vadra said.

Incidentally, Vadra’s statement is in strong contrast to Congress' official stand on the Ram Mandir Ptan Pratishtha ceremony, as the party didn’t shy away from calling it an ‘event sponsored by RSS-BJP’.

The Congress, while turning down the invite for the Pran Pratishtha of the ‘incomplete’ temple on January 22, called it a ploy by the BJP to garner political points.

Though Vadra remains a private individual without any political affiliation, his close family ties with the country’s first political family make him a de-facto sponsor of Congress ideology.

He also said that the Almighty is someone whom we all believe and confide in at times of hardship, irrespective of our religion.

Vadra also evaded a direct reply on charges of Muslim League’s imprint on Congress' manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Claiming that unnecessary fuss is being created over the Congress manifesto, he said there is a need to focus on developmental and other people-centric issues rather than trading baseless charges at the rival party’s poll document.