The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP of "threatening to kill the leader of the Opposition", maintaining that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the violent threats to Rahul Gandhi signalled his complicity.

Reacting to BJP president J.P. Nadda’s response to his Congress counterpart Mallikarjun Kharge’s letter to Modi seeking his intervention to put an end to threatening remarks against Rahul, AICC general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said: "The entire world is watching how the ruling party of India is threatening to kill" the LoP.

"We urge the Prime Minister to rise beyond petty politics, condemn the actions of his party leaders, and take strong action to set an example for others. His silence only emboldens these anti-India elements that are attempting to disrupt the peace of the country by threatening violence against the leader of Opposition," Ramesh said.

Disturbed by the PM’s silence on the threats to Rahul and the fact that he passed on Kharge’s letter to Nadda to respond, Jairam in a separate post on X saw a pattern in this behaviour. "Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh writes to the non-biological PM on Covid-19. The health minister (then) is given an abusive reply to send in his name. @INCIndia president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Khargeji writes to non-biological PM on the grave threats being hurled at the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi by Mr Modi's colleagues. The BJP president is given the task of sending an intemperate and senseless reply."

According to Ramesh, Nadda’s response "is both juvenile and shallow, and a shameful attempt to distract from the serious threats" to Rahul’s life, reminding the BJP president that before the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, "your ideological forefathers were instrumental in cultivating an atmosphere of violence and hatred against Bapu".

AICC general secretary in charge of organisational matters K.C. Venugopal said Nadda’s response smacks of arrogance.