A war of words continued between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress over Rahul Gandhi's criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy, with the saffron party calling it a 'misfortune' for India that the Lok Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli is Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha.
Leading the charge for the BJP was Union Health and Family Affairs Minister JP Nadda, who said it is even a 'sorrow' situation for Congress to accept Gandhi as their leader. Other BJP leaders also hit out at Gandhi and accused him of practising "uncultured, undignified, and uncivilised politics".
Speaking to news agency ANI, BJP's national spokesperson CR Kesavan called Gandhi the "biggest liability" of Indian politics and said he has demeaned the dignity of Parliament. He said Gandhi's remarks have once again exposed the "twisted mindset" of the Congress top brass.
"Why does Rahul Gandhi not start with the foreign policy tenure of Nehru for 17 years, when, as foreign minister, his policy was riddled with fiascos and failures? If Rahul Gandhi wants to talk about foreign policy and external affairs, why is his family it not returning the 51 cartons of letters of Nehru?" Kesavan said.
However, the Congress defended its former national president and said Gandhi had only commented over how PM Modi conducts himself and interacts with others during his foreign visits.
"As the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi simply asked if people had forgotten 'Operation Sindoor'— an instance where India was left isolated," Congress MP Pramod Tiwari told ANI.
What were Rahul Gandhi's remarks?
Speaking at the Rachnatmak Congress National Convention in Delhi on Thursday, Gandhi questioned PM Modi's foreign policy and said it was all about hugging leaders, while adding that the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have no understanding of India.
During the event, Gandhi even hugged party leader Sandeep Dikshit to show what foreign policy meant for the Modi government. Later, Dikshit asked: "Ek cheez pooch sakta hoon? Meloni samajh ke toh nahi pakda tha?"
To this, Gandhi said he has not reached there yet. He further said the grand old party will keep attacking the government and won't allow PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah "to sleep" till they resign.
"If you look at what was happening at Jantar Mantar, the students wanted to express themselves but the government stated that 'we want order and you cannot express yourselves'," he said. "So their (BJP-RSS) political philosophy is to impose an order on India which benefits them and certain other people."
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