The Congress on Monday said the RSS-BJP’s communal politics had brought shame upon India and argued that the country wouldn’t have become the target of global concerted attacks if the Narendra Modi government paid heed to the constructive criticism by conscientious citizens and Opposition parties in the last eight years.

Lamenting that every Indian has to hang his head in shame today for the misdeeds of the Sangh parivar and its cohorts, the Congress rejected the cosmetic measures like removal of spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal as mere “damage-control” exercise. They found fault with the ideology, not individuals, which not only damaged India’s reputation internationally but also created ceaseless social turmoil within the country.

Rahul Gandhi summed up the party’s views in a tweet: “Divided internally, India becomes weak externally. The BJP’s shameful bigotry has not only isolated us, but also damaged India’s standing globally.”

Rahul was blasted by the BJP for talking about the toxic politics in India while addressing foreign audiences, without realising that information flow in this inter-connected world doesn’t need an Opposition leader’s crutch.

Former foreign minister Salman Khurshid said: “I have been advising the external affairs minister publicly that the world today is seamless and interconnected. The BJP complains about Congress leaders’ statements abroad but are blind to their leaders’ statements at home. Learn to draw red lines for your spokespersons.”

Khurshid pointed to the BJP trolls now targeting the government for acting against Nupur Sharma and asked about the experience of riding a tiger.

Drawing attention to the larger BJP politics, former finance minister P. Chidambaram said: “Mrs Nupur Sharma and Mr Naveen Kumar were not the original creators of Islamophobia. Remember, they were trying to be more loyal than the king. Domestic criticism did not impel the BJP to act against the two spokespersons. It was only the international backlash that pushed the BJP to take action.”

Party’s communications chief Randeep Surjewala insisted the real issue was the possibility of a genuine course-correction in the RSS-BJP thinking and asked whether the constitutional scheme of equality and justice would be honoured now. He also raised concerns about the millions of Indians working in the Gulf countries, which had objected to the bigotry. “Isn’t it true our export to these four Gulf countries is worth Rs 3 lakh crore? Isn’t the BJP jeopardising the interests of our farmers and traders? Isn’t it true that 150 lakh Indians work in the Gulf and send over Rs 6 lakh crore back to India, which is more than the annual income tax collections?”

Surjewala also said: “What is the reason an FIR is not being registered against the spokesperson concerned? Isn’t it true that the spokesperson kept saying she enjoyed the blessings of the Prime Minister and the home minister? Will action against one spokesperson make up for the countless wounds inflicted on India’s secular polity by the BJP leaders? The BJP’s lust for power is causing irreparable damages to India’s syncretic culture and the minorities, Dalits and tribals are bearing the brunt of this attack.”

Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh, who is expected to replace Surjewala as the party’s communications chief soon, said: “Our dapper External Affairs minister got his spokesman to dismiss an US Govt report on religious minorities in India as ‘vote-bank politics in international relations’. US allies in Gulf are giving a reply.”

Ramesh also tweeted: “After Qatar, it is now the turn of Kuwait to protest by summoning our envoy. This is when the Vice-President of India (ex-President of the BJP) is in Qatar now, singing the praises of Vishguru no doubt! The BJP has suspended two spokespersons after protests by Qatar Government. This is what Americans call a good cop-bad cop routine. First, get your people to be obnoxious. Then act against them under pressure, to appear moderate. MEA calling BJP spokespersons ‘fringe elements’ is a joke!”

Party spokesperson Pawan Khera released a video message, saying that the BJP brought shame on India and only they and their supporters needed to apologise for this embarrassment because the majority of Indians never behave so irresponsibly.

“India hasn’t committed any mistake. It’s the BJP’s mistake. Indians respect all religions. Had the Prime Minister acted in time, preventing his spokespersons and TV anchors from spewing venom, India wouldn’t have faced this embarrassment.”