Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and accused him of “distracting from the issue”. Mr. Prasad alleged that Mr. Gandhi had “thoughtfully” insulted people belonging to the Backward Classes.
“Rahul Gandhi has been punished for his act of 2019 and today he says that he speaks thoughtfully. This means that what he said in 2019 was [said] thoughtfully. He said, ‘why are all Modis thieves?’ In north India, people of the Modi community are a Backward and Extremely Backward Class and they are large in number. He [Rahul Gandhi] has insulted the people of the backward community. He has the right to criticise but not to abuse anyone. There are seven other defamation cases against Rahul Gandhi. There is no correlation between today’s Adani row and the sentence given by the court,” Mr. Prasad said at the BJP’s Patna office during a media interaction.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi targets Modi-Adani relations, says his removal only a distraction move
Mr. Prasad further said that the BJP will launch a nationwide campaign against Mr. Gandhi for insulting the Backward Classes.
The senior BJP leader raised the question of why Mr. Gandhi had not taken the help of advocates that “the Congress has in large numbers”. He alleged that the Congress had not pleaded in Mr. Gandhi’s defence in the Surat court in order to secure advantage in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. Mr. Prasad gave the example of Congress leader Pawan Khera, who secured a stay order from the Supreme Court within an hour recently.
“Does Rahul Gandhi want to become a martyr by cutting his nails? The BJP is of the opinion that the Congress party did not take the help of any advocate to put a stay on the order to get the advantage in the Karnataka Assembly polls by raising the issue of Rahul Gandhi. It is well-planned to project Rahul Gandhi as a leader who sacrificed his membership to get the benefit in Karnataka polls,” Mr. Prasad claimed.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi disqualified as MP; Congress calls it ‘black day’ for democracy
Mr. Prasad pointed out that Rahul Gandhi was not the only leader to have been disqualified, and that 32 leaders have faced a similar fate, including six leaders of the BJP.
Mr. Prasad played a video clip of Mr. Gandhi’s speech in London, stressing that Mr. Gandhi had categorically stated democracy was becoming weak in India, and that American and European countries “were not paying attention to it”. “What is the meaning of not paying attention? It clearly means to intervene,” Mr. Prasad said.
“Speaking lies is in the nature of Rahul Gandhi, and today also he said lies that he did not say anything in London,” Mr. Prasad said. The Patna Sahib MP accused Mr. Gandhi of insulting India’s democracy and its institutions whenever he went abroad.
Also read: Narendra Modi, Gautam Adani are one, says Rahul; compares Adani Group to East India Company
Mr. Prasad named several projects of that Adani Group that were started during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. He further alleged the Congress stood for the “four C’s — cut, corruption, commission and Congress”.
In response to a query from The Hindu on Mr. Gandhi’s question as to whom the alleged ₹20,000 crore invested by the Adani Group in shell companies belonged, Mr. Prasad said, “If he is making a baseless allegation, then the Adani Group will give the answer. I am not sitting here to defend Adani or anyone. What more can you expect from that person [Mr. Gandhi] who asks for proof of being a martyr from soldiers?”
