‘Rahul Gandhi permanent part of anti-nationalist toolkit’: JP Nadda on Congress leader’s UK remarks

“To ask for interference in India’s internal matters by another country is an attack on India’s sovereignty. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi what are his intentions behind urging Europe and America to interfere in India’s domestic matters,” he said,  adding, “(He) insulted India, its Parliament, people on foreign soil. It amounts to strengthening those working against country.”

Drawing a parallel with India’s estranged neighbour Pakistan, Nadda asked: “Why do George Soros and Rahul Gandhi speak the same language? Why do Pakistan and Congress speak in a similar way?”

In his speech which raised alarms about an ongoing “attack on Indian democracy” at the Cambridge University’s Judge Business School in February, Gandhi had underlined, “First of all this is our problem. It is an internal problem. It is an Indian problem and the solution is going to come from inside. It is not going to come from outside. However, the scale of Indian democracy means that democracy in India is a global public good. It impacts way further than our boundaries. If Indian democracy collapses, in my view, democracy on the planet suffers a very serious, possibly fatal blow. So it is important for you too.”

Contesting this, the BJP president asked, “Rahul Gandhi, what is your intention when you demand the intervention of another country in the internal matters of India?”. He added that the Congress has been “repeatedly rejected by the people” and stated, “today, no one listens to your party in the country, and the public does not trust you. This is the reason why your party has been nearly wiped off.”

Meanwhile, the saffron party has initiated moves to suspend him from Lok Sabha if he does not apologise for his speech in the House, sources told The Indian Express.

In backdrop of the BJP mounting pressure for an apology, Gandhi said on Thursday that he did not make any “anti-India” remark and that he would speak in Parliament, if allowed.

Reacting to the development on Friday, Kharge said, “They (BJP) themselves are anti-national. They never took part in India’s freedom movement. And they’re calling others anti-national. They are doing this to deviate from issues of unemployment and inflation. Can Rahul Gandhi ever be anti-national? Are people who debate about democracy anti-national? I condemn JP Nadda’s statement. Why are they not giving Rahul Gandhi a chance to speak in Parliament?”

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also addressed Nadda’s statement on Friday and urged people to move beyond “all this tu tu main main” and focus on the problems facing the country. He added that the MP at no point called on foreign countries to intervene in India’s democracy.