The BJP on Sunday used strong language to counter the speeches made at the Congress’s 84th plenary in New Delhi, with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman terming party president Rahul Gandhi’s address a “loser’s rhetoric with little substance.”
Speaking at a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, she said the Congress had stuck to its agenda of peddling “fakery” and accused Mr. Gandhi of “pretend concern” for the media and the judiciary.
“The Congress president referred to our party president Shri Amit Shah as being accused of murder when a court of law has cleared him of charges. It is ironical that Mr. Gandhi, who is out on bail in the National Herald case is peddling this. The murder case in question, in fact, was part of a motivated campaign by the Congress against Mr. Shah on fraudulent grounds,” the Minister said.
“The Congress president terms his own party as the Pandavas and the BJP as Kauravas, arrogates that title to himself, whereas, the Congress is the party that has imposed the Emergency, under whose watch the 1984 anti-Sikh riots happened, a party that was thrown out of power as the corruption charges against it in various courts amounted to ₹12 lakh crore,” Ms. Sitharaman said.
Bypoll drubbing
She also said Mr Gandhi’s party had been rejoicing at the BJP losing the two bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, whereas the Congress party had lost its deposit in those two seats.
She accused Mr Gandhi of pretend concern for the independence of the judiciary and the media.
“I would like to point out what Mrs. Indira Gandhi did in compromising the independence of the judiciary just because one judgment went against her. What Rajiv Gandhi did as prime minister to the press by bringing in the Defamation Bill in the 1980s, a bill that had to be withdrawn as all sections of society protested. The Congress is a party under whose rule during the Emergency, newspaper front pages came out blank as a protest against censorship. Media and judiciary can take care of themselves, and their independence,” Ms Sitharaman said.
She also said that the attempt to link Prime Minister Modi with Punjab National Bank scam accused Nirav Modi and former IPL chief Lalit Modi just because they shared a surname was “spurious.”
“Rahul Gandhi pointing out that Prime Minister Modi sharing a name with Nirav and Lalit Modi was somehow significant is an attempt at building a fake narrative. Mr Gandhi who is out on bail in the National Herald case shares a surname with the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, is that a reflection on the latter? I am not comparing the Prime Minister with the Mahatma but the spuriousness of the linkage being attempted,” she said.
‘Mocking Hindus’
The Minister termed the Congress and its president as people “who lose no opportunity to mock Hindus and Hindu rituals” while referring to Mr. Gandhi’s anecdote of having met a “Congress” and “BJP” oriented priest with the latter asking him for a donation of gold to a temple in return for blessings.
“The Congress president and his party loses no opportunity to mock the Hindu religion and its rituals. The story he narrated of priest asking for gold for a temple is an example. This is a party that has questioned the very existence of Shri Rama. I would only suggest to Mr. Gandhi that he steer clear of quacks and go to real priests,” she said.
On the Congress’ rejection of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and criticism of the government on rural distress, Ms. Sitharaman said the party was afraid of technology as it had brought transparency in distribution of benefits and processes. “Where there is transparency, the Congress opposes it,” she said.
“The people of India know who the Kauravas are and who the Pandavas are,” Ms Sitharaman said.
