Rahul insulted OBCs, his family wants a separate IPC for itself: BJP counter

Top BJP leaders issued separate statements along similar lines: that Rahul’s remark “why do all thieves have the name Modi” was an “abuse” of the entire OBC community, and reflected his “arrogance” when it came to institutions such as the courts and Speaker.

Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Anurag Thakur, who addressed the media at the BJP headquarters, said Gandhi’s disqualification was a natural outcome of the law since it had been made clear that a lawmaker would stand disqualified from the time of conviction. The Lok Sabha Speaker, they said, had only confirmed this legal position.

Thakur said Gandhi must find out if there was a “conspiracy” against him in his party. “You (Gandhi) have to dig into the matter and find out who formed this well-planned conspiracy to get rid of you… There are a battery of lawyers as members of Congress, isn’t there anyone left to give the right advice?”.
“Rahul Gandhi is a habitual offender… He thought he could say anything without facing any consequences,” Thakur said, adding that the Congress leader was on bail in seven cases.

Pradhan said the “chief family” of the Congress wants a separate IPC (Indian Penal Code) where they are not charged for any offence.

Pradhan said the Nehru-Gandhi family suffers from a “feudal mindset” and a “sense of entitlement” as its members believe in a separate set of laws and democratic system for themselves.

“Law is equal for everyone,” Pradhan said, accusing Gandhi of “abusing” backward castes with his “thieves” remark on the Modi surname.

Hitting back at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge who said that Gandhi had been punished for speaking the truth on the Adani-Hindenburg issue, Pradhan asked if “abusing” the deprived and backward communities meant speaking the truth.

According to the BJP, Gandhi continued with such remarks despite a Supreme Court rap over a speech that had ended with an apology by him. On Friday, after Gandhi showed up in Parliament despite “automatic disqualification”, some BJP leaders demanded that he be tried for contempt of court.

Sources said the BJP decided to target Gandhi and the Congress protests over his disqualification after Opposition leaders like RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and NCP’s Sharad Pawar came out in his support.

After consultation among top leaders, BJP president J P Nadda set the tone for the party Friday morning. In a Twitter post, he said, “Now, Mr. @RahulGandhi calls the entire OBC community thieves. He gets flak in Courts but refuses to apologise, thus showing how deep-rooted his hatred for OBCs is. The people of India did not forgive him in 2019… in 2024, the punishment will be more severe.”

“By comparing OBC communities to thieves, Mr. @RahulGandhi has shown a pathetic and casteist mindset. However, his latest tirade is not surprising. For the last many years, he has always reduced levels of political discourse,” he said.

In another tweet, Nadda said: “So much for Chowkidar Chor Hai that neither Congress leaders nor Congress allies appreciated this deep slander against PM @narendramodi. In fact, this issue was also taken up in CWC where the senior Congress leaders even supposedly expressed their unhappiness on it.”

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav followed. “Are Congress party and Rahul Gandhi higher than the law of the country? Is it a national leader’s job to abuse and insult the surname of the OBC society?… I believe Congress party and Rahul Gandhi personally are guilty of hurling abuse at the entire OBC community in the country,” he said.

“We believe that if you insult a particular community in such a manner, it is not Bharat Jodo (unite India) but Bharat Todo (divide India),” Yadav said. “His words reflect his mindset about the OBC society and other smaller societies,” he said.

He also hit out at the Congress for questioning the Surat court order. Maintaining that Gandhi’s conviction followed due process of law, he said the Congress leader and his party were not able to accept the verdict due to their “arrogance”. He said this was why Rahul had not apologised in court either despite getting the opportunity to do so.

Yadav went on to warn Kejriwal, among the first Opposition leaders to come out in support of Rahul, saying political leaders need to understand that no one has the right to insult any community. “Leaders should keep control over their language. We should use all opportunities for healthy political discussions,” he said.

For the BJP, which is preparing for a direct electoral contest with the Congress in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan later this year, OBCs constitute a crucial vote bank, one the party has cultivated over the years.