NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday slammed the Congress for boycotting the state banquet organised for US President Donald Trump and accused the party of keeping the Gandhi family ahead of national interest.
“Trump is not going to come to India so often and for the Congress to boycott the state banquet at the Rashtrapati Bhavan shows that the main opposition party keeps the interests of Sonia Gandhi and family ahead of the country,” BJP vice-president Prabhat Jha told this newspaper.
On Sonia not being invited, he argued that there’s no protocol for inviting the UPA chairperson to the state banquet.
“The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary and Ghulam Nabi Azad, respectively, were invited according to the protocol. That they boycotted the state banquet is very unfortunate,” Jha said, adding that the move was an insult to India.
“The Congress leaders believe only Sonia Gandhi represents India, and its leaders in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha accordingly failed to honour the protocol and tradition,” said the BJP leader.
Jha also hailed PM Modi for “closer India-US ties”.
“That Trump took Modi’s name 10-15 times and hugged him three times on stage in Ahmedabad demonstrated that the PM has won hearts of the American people also.
There has never been so much warmth between the top leadership of India and the US.”