The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for gifting Melody sweets to Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni during his trip to Italy as part of a five-nation tour.
He also faced attack from the BJP over his “traitorous” remarks against Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah which he made earlier in the day during an event in his Lok Sabha constituency in Raebareli.
The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha was attacked by senior BJP leaders like Nitin Nabin, Piyush Goyal and Giriraj Singh who said Rahul was “misusing the country” and “insulting 140 crore Indians”.
The row erupted after BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared a video on X showing Rahul asking people attending a public rally to tell members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that Modi and Shah were “traitors” who had “sold out the country” and attacked the constitution and national iconography.
Gandhi is heard saying in the video: “You have to stand up and fight. When RSS workers come to your homes and talk about Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, you must tell them that their organisation, Modi and Shah, are traitors. They have worked to sell out our country and attacked our Constitution, Ambedkarji and Mahatma Gandhi.”
“Rahu of Indian politics”
BJP president Nitin Nabin slammed Rahul and called him the ‘Rahu’ of Indian politics. In Indian astrology, Rahu is considered by many to be a malefic shadow planet that causes confusion and obstacles.
Nabin said that Rahul’s statements were an insult to the 140 crore citizens of the country as he demanded that he apologise.
“I feel that his continuing electoral defeats and the frustration that followed are now evident in his mood and character; and it is this very despair and despondency that drives him to make such statements today. I wonder how you choose your words: Is eliminating Naxalism an act of treason? Is protecting the territory of this country an act of treason? Is raising the global standing of the Indian tricolor an act of treason?” He was quoted by news agency PTI.
Making a strong reference to Rahul’s statements, Nabin said: “The kind of statement he made clearly reflects his chaotic mentality and personality. The statements also reflect his frustration and disappointment that his party suffered defeats in the elections.”
“I also think he’s losing his mental balance,” Nabin said. Rahul also warned and said that the Congress party will have to pay a “heavy price” for his statements in the upcoming elections.
“It’s frustrating”
Union Minister Giriraj Singh slammed Rahul for criticizing Modi’s sweets gesture in Italy and called him “disappointed”. “Rahul Gandhi is frustrated. It is frustration with power – specifically, frustration with being denied power. He is not just abusing Prime Minister Modi, he is abusing the country itself. This is simply his frustration manifesting abroad,” Singh said, adding that Modi transformed India’s growth, pushing it to impressive heights. “And yet, you do a disservice to this particular man. It seems to me that if the Prime Minister embarks on a five-day tour across five countries with the specific aim of strengthening India, and if, as a result, millions of gallons of strategic fuel are secured from the UAE, and investments worth five billion dollars flow in – will that strengthen or weaken the country? If multi-billion-dollar investments arrive from European partners like Norway, will that make the nation stronger or weaker? Rahul Gandhi, if India is industrializing,” he said. Semiconductors here in India in collaboration with high technology partners from Netherlands, who will benefit in the end? However, Rahul Gandhi seems to think that the country is full of idiots.”
Commenting on Rahul, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that despite India becoming a “globally trusted destination through ‘Make in India’ and ‘going global’, the Congress sees a problem in every Indian achievement.”
“The global respect, investment and trust the country has waited for for decades, is what India is now gaining under the leadership of PM @NarendraModi, which Rahul Gandhi cannot afford,” Goyal wrote on X.
