The BJP on Saturday targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming he was losing support within his own party and citing Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of the Indian seafarers’ issue during his meeting with US President Donald Trump.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that Tharoor’s comments contradicted Gandhi’s criticism of the Prime Minister over the issue.
Poonawalla said Tharoor had acknowledged that Modi conveyed India’s concerns effectively to Trump on the safety of civilian sailors.
“Yesterday was Rahul Gandhi’s birthday, but he did not receive any gift. Dr Shashi Tharoor contradicted Rahul Gandhi’s stand on the same issue, saying Prime Minister Modi articulated India's position on the sailors' issue very forcefully before President Trump and conveyed the country's stance effectively,” Poonawalla said in a video statement.
The BJP leader was referring to Tharoor’s remarks that Modi had raised concerns over the safety of Indian seafarers during both public and private discussions with the US President.
“PM Modi made his point clear both in the public and private meetings with the President. It is important to convey the message that in wartime, civilian sailors on commercial ships should not be targets of combat. They are not soldiers, and that is the message Mr Modi conveyed,” Tharoor had said.
Gandhi had earlier criticised the Prime Minister over the deaths of Indian sailors in a US strike, alleging that Modi had failed to strongly raise India’s concerns with Washington.
Poonawalla further claimed that Tharoor had praised Modi’s leadership qualities, saying the Congress MP had spoken about the Prime Minister’s “vision, articulation, dynamism and oratory”.
The BJP spokesperson also questioned the Congress’s projection of Rahul Gandhi as a future prime ministerial candidate.
“On one hand, the Congress says ‘Cool PM Rahul’ and claims that Rahul Gandhi will become the country’s prime minister. But his own MPs do not seem to believe that,” he said.
Claiming that Gandhi had lost public support and backing within the party, Poonawalla said, “This shows Rahul Gandhi has lost the janmat, having lost 99 elections. He has lost the support of people who were once close to him, whether it is Ramachandra Guha or Shashi Tharoor.”
He further alleged that Congress allies were also unwilling to accept Gandhi’s leadership, claiming that parties such as the Left and the DMK did not support his projection as a leader.
(With inputs from ANI)
