NEW DELHI: The war of words between the BJP and the Congress got shriller on Friday with their respective party heads sparring in the context of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘democracy under siege’ statement in London recently.
In Parliament, too, the Congress retaliated against a BJP member’s demand to set up a special panel to probe Rahul’s remarks and consider his expulsion, by moving a privilege motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged derogatory remarks against party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress also criticised the alleged ‘muting’ of Parliament’s proceedings after the day’s session began. Both Houses were adjourned after a ruckus for the fifth consecutive day.
Outside Parliament, while BJP president J P Nadda charged that Rahul had become a permanent part of the toolkit working against India, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in his riposte said those who are ‘anti-nationals’ themselves must not preach about patriotism and must learn from the Congress instead.
Congress leader KC Venugopal, in his privilege notice to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, drew his attention to the PM’s remarks on the Gandhis not using the Nehru surname during a speech in the House. The mocking remarks were insulting and defamatory against the members of the Nehru family, particularly Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi who are Lok Sabha MPs, he said.