After the unprecedented statement by the Ministry of External Affairs referring to outsiders (including international celebrities) commenting on the protests against contentious farm laws, the BJP on Wednesday said it was the opposition Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi who were complicit in spreading “fake narratives” and “hatching anti-India” conspiracies while abroad.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted that “no propaganda can deter India’s unity! No propaganda can stop India to attain new heights! Propaganda can not decide India’s fate only ‘Progress’ can. India stands united and together to achieve progress.” Tweets with the hashtags “IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda were put out by senior Ministers like Prakash Javadekar and BJP president J.P. Nadda.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra addressed a press conference at the party headquarters in New Delhi and said the meet was titled “Rahul, Rihanna and Racket,” referring to pop idol Rihanna who tweeted about the protests by farmers’ unions .
“He [Rahul Gandhi] goes abroad to hatch conspiracy with anti-India elements as to how to defame India and drag the country into controversies,” Mr. Patra alleged.
“Be it Rihanna, an international pop singer, or former adult star Mia Khalifa or others like them who have tweeted, Rahul Gandhi meets these people for anti-India propaganda,“ Mr. Patra claimed.
Mr. Gandhi on Wednesday at his own press conference had said that India’s reputation had taken a “massive hit” and its biggest strength, its soft power, had been “shattered“ by the BJP and the RSS.
Mr. Patra said that while farmers had been saying that they had nothing to do with politics, Mr. Gandhi had shown his “immaturity” by trying to talk on their behalf.
He defended the massive barricading done by the Delhi police to block farmers protesting at several Delhi border points from entering into the national capital, saying that the police had taken these measures to ensure that the violence which happened on January 26 was not repeated.
“Even the Congress and Rahul Gandhi had asked why farmers were allowed to enter Red Fort, and they are now upset at the Delhi police for taking preventive measures,” he said, adding that the Congress wanted conflict so that there were casualties to politicise.
To a question about Mr. Gandhi’s tweet, seen as a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wondering why the names of so many dictators begin with ‘M’, Mr. Patra noted that the names of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mahatma Gandhi also begin with the same letter.
Mr. Patra also objected to the Punjab government and the Congress deciding to provide legal aid to those against whom the police had taken legal action for the Republic Day incidents in the national capital during the farmers’ tractor rally.
Attacking Mr. Gandhi for his allegation that the government wanted to “kill” the farmers, he said the Delhi police had acted with admirable restraint and noted that over 28 farmers were killed in police firing in 1998 in Madhya Pradesh when the Congress was in power.
