Thursday, 16 January 2025
Thursday, 16 January 2025
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has obviously hit the BJP where it hurts by accusing Mohan Bhagwat of treason for the RSS chief’s reported remarks that India got “true Independence” the day the Ram temple was consecrated in Ayodhya.
The Congress leader’s attack on the Sangh chief sparked a series of strong counterattacks from BJP leaders on Wednesday. The opposition party also gave back as good as it got.
At the inauguration of the Congress's new headquarters in Delhi on Wednesday, Rahul said: "Mohan Bhagwat has the audacity to inform the nation every two or three days what he thinks about the Independence movement, what he thinks about the Constitution. What he has said yesterday is treason because it is stating that the Constitution is invalid, it is stating that everything [done] to fight against the British was invalid and he has the audacity to say this publicly. In any other country, he would be arrested and tried."
He called Bhagwat's comments "an insult to every single Indian."
His comments sparked a fierce backlash, with BJP leaders saying that the Congress is fighting not just the BJP and RSS but "the Indian state itself."
BJP president J.P. Nadda accused Gandhi of undermining India’s sovereignty.
"Hidden no more, Congress’ ugly truth now stands exposed by their own leader," Nadda wrote on X. "I 'compliment' Mr. Rahul Gandhi for saying clearly what the nation knows—that he is fighting the Indian state! It is not a secret that Mr. Gandhi and his ecosystem have close links with Urban Naxals and the Deep State who want to defame, demean and discredit India," Nadda said.
The Congress on Wednesday hit back at BJP president J.P. Nadda for his criticism of Rahul Gandhi and said time is up for the "Rotten Secret Society".
Rahul's remarks that "we are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian state itself" triggered a row, with Nadda claiming that the Congress's "ugly truth" had been exposed by its leader.
Hitting back at Nadda, the Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "Nothing is more rotten than you calling the ideology of Gandhi and the ideology that freed India from the tyrannical British rule. Time is up for the Rotten Secret Society."
Amit Malviya, head of BJP’s IT department, shared a video clip of Rahul’s remarks and said: "Rahul Gandhi has now declared an open war against the Indian State itself. This is straight out of George Soros’s playbook."
Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman criticised Gandhi for his comments. "The LoP, who was sworn in by taking oath on the Constitution, is now saying, ‘We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian State itself.’ So, @INCIndia and @RahulGandhi, what for are you carrying a copy of the constitution in your hand?" she asked in a post on X.
Union minister Hardeep Puri said, "Tell him to get his mental stability checked." BJP MP Nishikant Dubey added, "Gandhi family wants division of India."
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla called Gandhi’s remarks a calculated move. "Today, Congress party and Rahul Gandhi have made it clear that while opposing BJP and PM Modi, they have started opposing the nation. They are fighting against India and Indian states. It is not a coincidence but a well-thought experiment. It has become an industry, sponsored by Soros," he said.
BJP leader C.R. Kesavan accused Gandhi of making anti-national statements. "His statement is a direct attack on India's sovereignty, unity, and integrity. He has been gallivanting with anti-India forces, whether abroad, or with individuals, or with institutions funded by people like George Soros," Kesavan said.
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva used the opportunity to critique Congress's local leadership. "Rahul Gandhi ruins Congress wherever he goes. He has already ruined Congress in Delhi. If corruption-free governance is needed in Delhi, then a double-engine government will be formed," he remarked.
