BJP slams Opposition Ramlila Maidan event: ‘Rally to save family, hide corruption’

“Some people are talking about match-fixing. In 1974, the Indira Gandhi government, compromising the country’s national interest and interest of the people of Tamil Nadu, handed over Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka to benefit the Congress’s first family… Rahul Gandhi ji, your family has done a deal-fixing,” BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla told a press conference at the party headquarters.

On Rahul’s remarks that the entire country “will be on fire” if the BJP returned to power, Poonawalla said divisive politics was “in the DNA” of the main opposition party.

Opposition INDIA bloc leaders during the ‘save democracy’ rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Sunday. (Express photo: Abhinav Saha)

Slamming the INDIA bloc parties as “anti-Hindu” and “corrupt”, BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and party’s national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi called the opposition rally a “parivar aur bhrashtachar bachao rally”.

“AAP, which was formed to fight corruption, is itself involved in corruption and working towards the goal of ‘Modi hatao’ with other corrupt parties,” Trivedi said at another press conference at BJP headquarters.

“Numerous leaders of the INDIA Alliance have gone to jail, including A Raja of DMK in 2011, Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi in 2010, RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1997, Shibu Soren of JMM in 2006. A case was lodged against late Mulayam Singh Yadav of Samajwadi Party in 2007. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been on bail in a 2013 case. In a nutshell, all these cases belong to the pre-2014 period. And today, to cover up their ills, these all anti-Hindu and corrupt parties are gathering together in Ramlila Maidan,” Trivedi said.