NEW DELHI: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party went hammer and tongs against Rahul Gandhi, alleging he was 'maligning' the image of India on foreign soil just because he was harbouring a 'grudge and hatred' against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
"His all critical remarks, spoken about the country from international forums or foreign soils in the past and the latest one…amount to betraying the country," said BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia.
Stung by Rahul's kerosene remark, the BJP spokesperson said it was the Congress that sprinkled kerosene oil. "The carnage of 1984 is still an example showing how the Congress leaders had sprinkled the kerosene oil," he said.
Dubbing Rahul as a "desperate, failed, immature and part-time leader of a hopeless Congress party", Bhatia said that wherever he had gone on a foreign trip, he had made critical comments against India in the name of expressing "political aversion" against PM Narendra Modi and the BJP.
"You (Rahul Gandhi), as a part of healthy politics in the role of opposition, can oppose the BJP, but you don’t have the right to be critical against the country or make baseless allegations," the BJP leader said. He added that criticise Modi if you want to, but not India.
Lashing out at the Congress leader for comparing India with Pakistan, which has been under the military rule for a large part of the 7.5 decades since its existence, and goes begging with a bowl for survival. "Beware Rahul Gandhi in comparing India with Pakistan. India was, is and will remain great," the BJP national spokesperson added.