NEW DELHI: With India's diplomatic delegations fanning across the globe, the Congress claimed on Tuesday that opposition MPs are conveying the country's stand much more effectively than their counterparts in the government.
The opposition party also alleged that this government is being "run, inspired and operated by trolls," and urged people to look at the difference between how the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its supporters, and the opposition behaved following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack to draw lessons for posterity.
Addressing a press conference here, Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera claimed that Prime Miniser Narendra Modi is behaving like a troll and delivering dialogues like "Prem Chopra and Paresh Rawal," which do not behove the prime minister's post.
He said the politics that was done over the naming of the members of the delegations to be sent abroad to convey India's stand was there for everyone to see.
"There are also some people going to tourist-attraction spots and tweeting. The manner in which the Congress MPs are putting across India's views is in front of everyone. A ruling party MP, I do not want to name him, is making poisonous (social media) posts about the opposition daily," Khera said, in an apparent swipe at BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.
"Opposition members very effectively, even much more than the government, are putting forward the interests of India. A clear comparison between what the MPs of the BJP and the opposition are doing ... a clear comparison between what the BJP and its supporters and the opposition did in the past one month ... this difference is very important to draw lessons for posterity," he added.
The Congress had earlier said it was asked by the government to submit the names of four leaders for the multi-party delegations to be sent abroad to explain India's stance on Pakistan-backed terrorism.
The opposition party had nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
Of the four, only Sharma has been included in the seven delegations visiting various countries.
Four Congress leaders -- Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh and Salman Khurshid -- who were not part of the list sent by their party have been included in the delegations.
He said when the country faced a crisis on April 22, everyone, including the Congress, demanded from Prime Minister Modi to respond to terrorism and expressed support for the government.
"Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi left his foreign tour and returned to the country. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge immediately called a meeting of the (party's) working committee and issued a statement, saying we are with the government in every step. After this, Rahul Gandhi first went to Pahalgam and met with the injured and local people. Then he also met with those affected by Pakistan's cowardly firing in Poonch," Khera said.
While on one hand the Congress and the entire opposition are standing firm in national interest, there has been no let up in the "low-level politics" being done by the BJP from the night of April 22 till the day, he alleged.
"The truth is that the BJP has found an opportunity in a disaster, which is a very painful thing. Therefore, this question will be asked for many decades to come that who was doing what when disaster struck the country," he said.
It will be asked what Gandhi and Kharge were doing and what the prime minister was doing, Khera said.
"Talking about what he was doing would make things light-hearted when this is a very serious issue. The way he recited dialogues, sometimes like Prem Chopra and sometimes like Paresh Rawal ...'Sindoor is flowing through my veins' and what not, 'goli khao, roti khao'. Is this how the prime minister of a country behaves?" he asked.
Khera alleged that the BJP-led government has outsourced policy-making to trolls.
"This government is being inspired, run and operated by trolls and the results are there for everyone to see. When the prime minister himself starts speaking the language of a troll, it is a matter of great concern. In such a situation, we want an answer as to what will happen in the future to the challenges that the country is facing today," he said.
"When it was tested in the hour of crisis, the government failed miserably," the Congress leader claimed.
Khera said the Congress has still not received any reply from the government on what happened to the terrorists of Poonch, Ganderbal, Gulmarg and Pahalgam and on what terms did the India-Pakistan "ceasefire" take place.
"How did Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar escape? Do the terms of the ceasefire include bringing back these terrorists or not? When these questions are asked of the Modi government, its leaders deliver filmy dialogues. This government has outsourced its entire politics, political discourse, foreign policy to trolls," he said.
The result of the Modi government's foreign policy is that Kuwait has removed visa restrictions on Pakistan, Khera said.
Due to the India-Pakistan hyphenation by the United States, the UAE has allowed Pakistani nationals to be eligible for its five-year multiple-entry tourist visa, he claimed.
"The result of our foreign policy is that even Nepal and Bhutan did not stand with us. In this entire conflict, it has become clear how China and Pakistan came together, but the government is not doing anything about it. Why is this government allowing this (India-Pakistan) hyphenation to happen?" the Congress leader asked.