NEW DELHI: Launching a scathing attack against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, the ruling BJP on Friday asked him to stop “undermining” the Indian Armed Forces’ valour and “jeopardising” the country’s security by making “irresponsible remarks” about Operation Sindoor.
Sarcastically suggesting Gandhi not to vie for ‘Nishan-e-Pakistan’, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused the Congress leader of carrying forward the “agenda of countries inimical to India.” He said Gandhi’s recent remarks on the India-Pakistan conflict were being used by Islamabad to “defame” the country.
“Rahul Gandhi, you decide which side you are on. You have to decide whether you are India’s leader of opposition or Pakistan’s Nishan-e-Pakistan,” Bhatia said.
Notably, the ruling party’s accusation came a day after Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having “compromised” India’s “prestige” and asked him why he sacrificed the national interest by agreeing to halt military action against Pakistan.
“Rahul Gandhi, stop undermining the valour and commitment of our brave armed forces, stop asking questions which shouldn’t be asked. They jeopardise national security,” Bhatia advised the Congress leader, while noting that his remarks could not be dismissed as “juvenile behaviour.”
The BJP spokesperson alleged that it is in the character of Rahul Gandhi “to intentionally ask such questions, taking forward the agenda of nations which are inimical to our country.”
He lashed out at Gandhi over his remarks that India’s foreign policy had “collapsed” and asked him if the joint statement of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Syed Yusuf Raza in Sharm el Sheikh after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that Pakistan was also a victim terror was the Congress’ diplomacy.
Terming the Sharm el Sheikh joint statement as “irresponsible behaviour” of the erstwhile Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Bhatia said it was made against the “established policy” of India and asked Gandhi had he forgotten that.
“Rahul Gandhi, in his own eyes, feels that he is the best diplomat that the world has ever seen. But in the eyes of Indian citizens, he doesn’t even know the ‘D’ of diplomacy. He is acting like an enemy of our country,” Bhatia said.
Gandhi on Friday claimed that India’s foreign policy had “collapsed” and asked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to explain why India was hyphenated with Pakistan and who asked US President Donald Trump to “mediate” between the neighbours.
On the questions, which Rahul Gandhi asked on ‘Opration Sindoor’ and on Pakistan, Bhatia in a counter poser asked: “Is it not a conspiracy against India? Shouldn’t a leader of the opposition know when to ask what kind of questions?”