New Delhi: The BJP launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday over his latest remarks in the United States, calling him a “black spot” in Indian democracy.
Gaurav Bhatia, a national spokesperson of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also accused Gandhi of trying to weaken Indian democracy with his remarks abroad, which he claimed was in accordance with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Congress and the Chinese Communist Party during the UPA rule.
“Everyone knows that Rahul Gandhi is an immature and part-time leader. But people have put a huge responsibility on his shoulders since he became the leader of opposition (in the Lok Sabha).
“But I feel sad to say that Rahul Gandhi is a black spot in Indian democracy. He does not even know what to talk about when he visits a foreign country,” Bhatia told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here.
He was replying to reporters’ queries on Gandhi’s remarks against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at an event in the US.
Love, respect and humility are missing from Indian politics, Gandhi said in his address to the Indian-American community. He also criticised the RSS for believing that India is “one idea”.
The Congress leader made the remarks in Dallas on Sunday during his first interaction with the Indian diaspora on his current visit to the US.
During another interaction with students at the University of Texas in Dallas, Gandhi also underscored the need to focus on manufacturing in India, saying India, the US and other countries in the West are facing the problem of unemployment, while China is not as it is dominating global production.
The former Congress chief also said there is no shortage of skills in India and the country could compete with China if it starts aligning itself for production.
Reacting sharply, Bhatia said Gandhi cannot “utter a single word or give a statement against China”.
“He weakens India…. He stands by China,” the BJP leader said.
Bhatia claimed that the Congress had signed a “party-to-party MoU with China” during its rule.
“The series of efforts that Rahul Gandhi has been making to weaken Indian democracy is the outcome of that MoU. If I am wrong, I dare Rahul Gandhi and (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge to make the MoU public,” he said.
Another BJP spokesperson, Prem Shukla, said the way Gandhi condemns India and praises China on foreign soil proves that he is nothing but an “anti-India pawn thriving on Chinese donations”.
The rate of unemployment in China is more than 17 per cent but Gandhi says there is no unemployment in the neighbouring country, Shukla said.
During his interaction with the students at the University of Texas, Gandhi also said the BJP and the RSS believe that women should be restricted to a particular role — they should “stay at home, cook food” and “should not talk too much”.
“And we believe that women should be allowed to aspire to what everyone wants to do,” he said.
Union minister Shivraj Chouhan slammed Gandhi for his remarks and said the RSS has raised lakhs of volunteers “who dedicate their bodies, minds and entire lives to the country”.
“Rahul Gandhi is the leader of opposition and the leader of opposition is also accountable to the country. Going abroad and tarnishing the country’s image is a crime like treason. No patriotic person does this, but it seems that Rahul Gandhi is frustrated after the Congress’s defeat (in the Lok Sabha polls) thrice in a row,” he said in Bhopal.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari accused Gandhi of spreading lies about India, the RSS and Modi, and asked the Congress leader to fight “political battles” in the country, not abroad.
“Have you ever heard George Bush, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton or Joe Biden speaking ill of America in some other country when they were in the opposition? They never said bad things about their own country,” Tiwari said in a statement.
“But Rahul Gandhi can do this. He is doing this. Rahul Gandhi is lying without any knowledge of the country, the prime minister and the RSS. His frustration of staying away from power is not going away. This is often seen when someone is born in a royal family and loses power,” he added.
Another BJP spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, accused Gandhi of maintaining “selective silence” on the issue of atrocities against women and asked the Congress leader why has he kept mum on a Kolkata medic’s alleged rape and killing as also on the expulsion of Kerala Congress leader Simi Rosebell John from the party after she alleged a casting-couch culture in the organisation.
“By the way, it was your (Gandhi’s) party MLA, Shivshankarappa (in Karnataka), who had said it is the women’s job to cook. One of your party MLAs, Shanti Dhariwal, had said rape happens (in Rajasthan) because it is a state of men. So you should talk about your own partymen and take action against them,” he told PTI.
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