Rahul Gandhi: Congress MP and LoP Rahul Gandhi, now on a 3-day visit to the United States, has publicly talked about everything from unemployment to a caste census. His utterances have created quite a stir during this visit, all the more because he has used the opportunity to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi like never before. Several leading political figures from the BJP and BSP have, in turn, come out with scathing criticism of his remarks and launched a verbal attack on the Congress leader.
Criticism by Giriraj Singh
Not to be outdone, Rahul Gandhi’s statements in America quickly got him a response from Union Minister Giriraj Singh. In a scathing attack, Singh accused the Congress party of being embroiled in appeasement politics and reminded the public of that party’s complicity in the 1984 massacres of the Sikhs. He said he could hardly believe that anybody from the same party would have the audacity to lecture the people about running a government.
Singh ridiculed these claims by Gandhi of the Congress winning 400 seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and referred to him as a weak politician who didn’t carry any credibility amounting to him. He also referred to the fact that Narendra Modi had been winning more votes in successive elections than what Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister and Gandhi’s grandmother, ever received. Singh’s statement was not a plea for BJP; it was an attack on the political acumen of Rahul Gandhi and the legacy of Congress.
Strong Rebuttal by Shivraj Singh Chauhan
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan too echoed criticism against Rahul Gandhi. Chauhan reminded the people that the stature of Leader of Opposition carries a responsibility, which looks to have been missed by the leader. He drew a contrast between Gandhi and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, He said, “I want to remind Rahul Gandhi that when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the leader of the opposition, he never tried to tarnish the country’s image on foreign soil, because after losing for the third time in a row, anti-BJP, anti-RSS and anti-Modi sentiments have taken root in his mind. He is constantly trying to tarnish the country’s image.”
“He has lost one election after another, and that perhaps has embittered him so that he has become desperate in using rhetoric that hurts the prestige of the nation,” said Chauhan. He questioned the credentials of Gandhi to unite India, as suggested by his “Bharat Jodo Yatra,” and insinuated that the Congress leader was out of touch with both the country and its people.
Sharp Attack on Caste and Reservation by Mayawati
BSP President Mayawati joined in the controversy by launching an attack on Rahul Gandhi on the caste census and reservation issues. She accused the Congress Party of not implementing OBC reservation during its time in power for a long period of time, while she warned of wariest about the apparent new-found support of Gandhi for the caste census and called it a ploy in order to regain power.
Mayawati went on to say that, in foreign land, Gandhi hinted at a conspiracy that if the Congress came back to power, the reservations for SCs, STs, and OBCs would meet their demise. She warned the people of these communities to stay very wary of the Congress Party and accused it of having a long-cherished design to do away with the reservation system behind such statements.
Shehzad Poonawalla ask Rahul Gandhi to Condemn that Statement
Shehzad Poonawalla says, “When Rahul Gandhi lost an election in Amethi, he said that the people of north and Uttar Pradesh didn’t understand the issues. He also said that the people of Kerala understand the issues…We also remember how one of the leaders of Congress party, brother of DK Shivkumar, said that the south should separate from the north. Is this your idea of India? Is this your idea of putting one state against the other state?”
He added, “We also remember what statements DMK has made about the entire north India…And today, if Rahul Gandhi truly believes in the idea of India, what is the idea of India? Indira is India? That is what Congress has said. Has Congress ever condemned that statement where they equated one person to the entire country?”
He concluded saying that, “Today Rahul Gandhi should condemn that statement. And Rahul Gandhi preaching about the Constitution is like the devil preaching scriptures. Your alliance partner is saying 370 should come back, Do you support 370. Rahul Gandhi should clarify this rather than preaching to us”
