Amid BJP-led protests and the Congress’s counter-protests over the incident across the country on Saturday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju alleged that members of its youth wing had undertaken the demonstration inspired by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “anti-India” point of view.
“While various global leaders associated with AI and the tech world were praising India at Bharat Mandapam yesterday…there was praise all around and especially from heads of state as well as government of prominent nations…at that time, some workers from the (Indian) Youth Congress performed a nanga naach (naked dance) there, everyone saw the pictures; there was a national uproar overnight,” Rijiju told reporters at a press conference.
“This is not a mistake; it is a crime. The Congress has committed a very big crime against the nation and its people…we thought that the Congress, after introspection, would apologise…but instead of that, we saw many Congress leaders justifying this nanga naach. They called it angst among the youth. There can be nothing more shameful than using ‘angst among the youth’ to defame India globally,” he added.
There was no room for politics when it came to anything related to national interest, Rijiju sought to underline, adding that when it came to global representation, political leaders represented the nation without scope for bickering along ideological lines.
It was its “frustration at not being able to win elections” and gaining the trust of the people that positioned the principal Opposition party “against the nation”, he added.
“It is completely justified in a democracy if the Congress attacks the BJP and its leaders…within the norms of dignified language. There is also freedom to talk against the government’s policies…whether inside or outside Parliament…but how can you stage a protest against the nation?” he asked.
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“For the first time, at such a scale, the Global AI Summit brought the fact that (PM Narendra) Modi ji believes in worldwide prosperity when it comes to AI to the fore…the world itself is saying that India is rapidly growing in terms to technology…whenever India progresses, Rahul Gandhi ji gets sad, the entire Congress party gets sad,” he alleged.
Rahul Gandhi’s ‘anti-India voice and actions getting stronger’
Accusing Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, of seeking to “instigate” and “balance equations with anti-India forces” during his trips abroad, Rijiju alleged that he also sought “intervention in India’s internal matters” and “attacks on India’s sovereignty”.
“No Congress leader”, Rijiju alleged, “was able to make Rahul understand” the alleged errors of his ways during “private conversations” with him in the face of appeals to this effect from the ruling party.
“I have asked many senior Congress leaders to make him understand this. His age is not less, but is he too naadaan (innocent) when it comes to his thoughts and views? Or does he not have the potential to understand?…No Congress leader is ready to make Rahul Gandhi understand anything,” he added.
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“Every day, his anti-India voice and actions are getting stronger. This is why, the people of the Youth Congress, after learning it from Rahul Gandhi ji, hit the streets to defame India…the BJP…was in opposition for 60 years…we never uttered even a single word or took a single action against the nation…Modiji, as our leader, always guides us, even in the Cabinet…that do anything, but it should not harm the nation,” he added.
Gandhi and his party, he alleged, on the other hand, were “conspiring” to defame the country as they could not see its prosperity, progress and its global advancement. “This is not a mistake…it is a deliberate attack on India as per a conspiracy…they have committed a great crime against the country…except the Congress party and its ecosystem, the entire world, as well as Bharat have praised the AI summit,” he said.
“There are some anti-India forces, and the Congress party and its ecosystem are very sad that India is rapidly moving forward,” he added.
