NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday launched an all-out attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his "mohabbat ki dukan" pitch, asking if his "mohabbat" meant denouncing the Hindu way of life, killing of Sikhs and seeking outside intervention to harm India's democracy.
BJP leaders accused Rahul Gandhi of spreading "hate" against the country from foreign soil in the name of love and also listed a series of incidents to allege that the Nehru-Gandhi family has a "history of spreading hate."
Leading the charge, Union Minister Smriti Irani raised questions on his claim of running "mohabbat ki dukan" (shop of love) and asked if this love meant denouncing the Hindu way of life, killing of Sikhs, partnering with those who wish ill for India and seeking outside intervention to harm India's democracy.
"What kind of love is this which is not for the country but for your politics. It does not say anything when 'Kerala Story' is shown," she said at a press conference here.
Does this love not extend to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she asked, lauding his spirit of "service", and added that she will be surprised if the Congress has any kind word for him.
"It is incumbent upon the Congress to attack the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 'mohabbat' of the Congress doesn't extend to him," the Union minister for women and child development said.
Slamming Rahul Gandhi over his allegation that minorities are not being treated fairly by the government, Irani said the "Gandhi Khandan" calls itself "protector of minorities" but the expenditure on merit-cum-means scholarship was Rs 860 crore under the Congress-led UPA government while it is Rs 2,691 crore under the Modi government.
On another allocation under the minority affairs ministry, a portfolio she holds, she said it had risen to Rs 31,450 crore now from Rs 12,000 crore under the UPA. These statistics tell the truth about the Congress, Irani said.
In an open letter to the former Congress president, three BJP MPs cited a series of incidents to claim that the Nehru-Gandhi family has a "history of spreading hate" and wondered if he was running "mohabbat ki dukan ya nafrat ka mega mall" (shop of love or mega mall of hate).
"Great to hear about your 'mohabbat ki dukan'. Truly, there is a feeling of mutual connection in love. By following this, we can make society and the country more empowered," Lok Sabha MPs Poonam Mahajan (from Mumbai), Parvesh Sahib Singh (Delhi) and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Rajasthan) said in their nine-page letter to Gandhi.
"If Congress actually follows this positive thinking then how much better it would be. But we have to say with regret that there is a lot of difference between your words and actions," the letter read.
Referring to remarks made by Gandhi during his recent visit to the US, the MPs accused the Congress leader of spreading "hate" against India from foreign soil in the name of love.
"In America, you have spread hatred for your motherland and country with this 'mohabbat ki dukan'. Spreading hatred is not a new thing for your family and your party. You people have mastered it," the MPs alleged in their letter.
"If you turn the pages of your own family's history, they will scream and testify about the stories of hatred, and your whole family has opened a mega mall of hatred," the letter read.
The BJP MPs claimed that the highest number of riots took place during the Congress' rule and alleged mistreatment of many Congress leaders by the Nehru-Gandhi family. Inhumane treatment was also meted out to some relatives by the family, they alleged.
BJP MP and Rahul Gandhi's aunt Maneka Gandhi was forced out of the house by former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1982 even though her "little son in her lap was reeling under high temperature", they claimed.
His grandmother had treated Maneka Gandhi with so much "mohabbat", the MPs said in a dig at Rahul Gandhi.
"Varun Gandhi had personally gone to his aunt Sonia Gandhi's residence at 10 Janpath to invite her to his marriage. Do you remember that neither you nor your mother and sister participated in this marriage to maintain the relationship of love," the BJP MPs said in their letter.
However, Varun Gandhi attended "Priyanka Gandhi's wedding, despite the unbearable humiliation he received from Indira Gandhi", the letter read.
This shows the meaning of "mohabbat" for Rahul Gandhi and it is reflected in his personal relations as well, the MPs said.
Attacking Rahul Gandhi, the BJP leaders claimed thousands of people were killed in Maharashtra after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination in 1948 and alleged that Congress members were behind the deaths.
They also alleged that instead of giving a message of peace and harmony, the then-prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, made a speech that incited people.
The BJP MPs referred to the death of seers in police firing during their protests against cow slaughter in 1966, when Indira Gandhi was at the helm, and also the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, among other incidents, to corner Rahul Gandhi and his party.
They also cited reports of Nehru's advice to President Rajendra Prasad against attending the funeral of Sardar Patel and his opposition to BR Ambedkar in elections.
Ambedkar was kept at the margins even though he was more qualified than Nehru in every sense, the BJP MPs claimed.