The federally-governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday hit out at former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi after he said during an address in Cambridge that Indian democracy is under attack.
What Rahul Gandhi Said in Cambridge
In his lecture, Gandhi stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is destroying the architecture of India and imposing an idea on the nation that the country can't absorb.
“Opposition leaders in India are navigating that space. What's happening? The institutional framework which is required for democracy, parliament, free press, judiciary -- these are all getting constrained. We are facing an attack on the basic structure of Indian democracy,” he said at the beginning of the speech.
Asked about the good policies of the government, the Gandhi scion said that he is not bothered about the two or three good things that Prime Minister Modi is doing if "he is blowing my country into smithereens and that's what he is doing."
Targeting the Modi government over the Pegasus issue, Gandhi claimed to have had Pegasus on his phone.
“A large number of politicians have Pegasus on their phones. I've been called by Intelligence officers who say 'please be careful of what you say on phone as we are sort of recording the stuff.' This is a constant pressure that we feel,” he said in his lecture.
BJP Calls Rahul Gandhi a 'Serial Offender'
Shortly after the Congress parliamentarian's lecture was shared on Twitter by Sam Pitroda, former advisor to Indian ex-Prime Minister and Congress politician Manmohan Singh, the BJP lampooned Gandhi and called him a "serial offender."
Criticizing the Gandhi scion for his remarks, federal minister Anurag Thakur said that once again he was doing the work of hue and cry in a foreign country.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India’s respect has increased globally. Today, the entire world is respecting and recognizing India as well as PM Modi. If no one else then he should have at least listened to Italy’s prime minister and its leaders,” Thakur said during a press conference.
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, during her address at the Raisina Dialogue on Thursday, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is the "most loved leader around the world."
About Gandhi’s remark on Pegasus, the minister said that the issue has occupied a deep corner in his head and heart.
Taking a dig at Gandhi's party, Thakur said that the results of the three northeastern state assembly elections announced on Thursday show that Congress has been defeated once again. “Congress is not able to accept people’s mandate and yesterday's results show that people trust PM Modi,” he added.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also came down heavily on the Gandhi scion, calling him an “entitled dynast.”
Citing the Supreme Court of India’s verdict on the Pegasus issue, Poonawalla tweeted that even after the top court’s verdict, Gandhi peddles lies about it.
The BJP spokesperson said: “The entitled dynast is a serial offender - his hatred for one person transcends into hatred for the country time and again. Ironically, his daadi [grandmother] imposed [an] emergency and he preaches about democracy! What more can one say!”
Former Prime Minister and Congress leader Indira Gandhi imposed a national emergency in 1975.
In May last year, Gandhi targeted Modi and his government during "The Ideas of India" conference in the UK. He stated: “The soul of India is under attack from the BJP and a soul without a voice means nothing, and what has happened is that India’s voice has been crushed.”
He then lauded the efforts of Congress in fighting against polarization in the country.
Slamming Gandhi at the time, the BJP termed him as a "part-time, immature, unsuccessful leader" who had betrayed the country.