BJP decides on its Rahul Gandhi line: Calls his remarks, Cong protest ‘insult to OBCs’, ‘insult to institutions’

On Friday, top BJP leaders issued separate statements along similar lines: that Rahul’s comment saying “why all thieves have Modi surname” was an abuse of the entire OBC community (Modis are OBCs), and reflected his “arrogance” when it came to institutions such as the courts and Speaker.

The BJP has been arguing since Thursday that Rahul has continued with such remarks despite a Supreme Court rap over a speech, that had ended in an apology by him. On Friday, as Rahul turned up in Parliament, despite an “automoatic disqualification”, some BJP leaders demanded that he be tried for contempt of court.

Sources said the BJP decided to fire at Rahul and at the Congress’s protests against his disqualification using the caste weapon after Opposition leaders like the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal and the NCP’s Sharad Pawar came out in his support. “Projecting his remarks as an insult to OBCs could put them on the backfoot,” a source said.

After consultation among top leaders, BJP president J P Nadda set the tone for the party on Friday morning. “Now, Mr. @RahulGandhi calls the entire OBC community thieves. He gets a 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,” he tweeted in the morning. “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,” Yadav 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, a prominent BJP leader from the OBC community, said. “His words reflect his mindset about the OBC society and other smaller (lower caste) societies,” he added.

On Thursday itself, BJP functionaries from the Teli caste and leaders of the community issued a statement demanding an apology from Rahul for his “defamatory” remarks against people with Modi surname, who largely are OBC Telis. The leaders also warned of an agitation against the Congress in different parts of the country.

On Friday, Yadav also hit out at the Congress for questioning the Surat court order. Arguing that Rahul’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 that this was why Rahul had not apologised in court either despite repeatedly 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.

The BJP also hopes to portray Rahul’s decision to come to Parliament despite his “automatic” disqualification as MP after conviction, as an insult to the institution.

Sources in the BJP said the party was not planning to press the Lok Sabha Secretariat to issue the notification disqualifying Rahul, as they thought this would give the Opposition more ammunition to accuse the government of throttling Opposition voices. However, after Rahul came to the Lok Sabha, the Secretariat “had no choice” but to issue the notification making his disqualification official.

“Since he came to the House in the morning — which he should not have done as the conviction automatically disqualified him from Lok Sabha membership — the House Secretariat was compelled to issue the notification. Otherwise, our stand would have been questioned in court,” a source said, adding that Rahul’s action could invite contempt of court charges.

For the BJP, which is preparing for a direct fight with the Congress in the electoral battles in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan later this year, constructing a Modi vs Rahul narrative is politically wise, especially as it is struggling with internal issues and leadership questions in the states. It can help the BJP consolidate its support and cash in on the popularity of Modi, as well as blunt Opposition attempts to come on a common platform against the BJP.

Besides, OBCs form a crucial vote bank for the party and have been assiduously wooed by it since the Modi era began in the BJP around 2014. The OBCs, believed to outnumber other communities, have replied in kind and rallied behind the Modi-led BJP.

The Surat court’s conviction comes on the back of the BJP’s campaign against Rahul over remarks made in Britain. It had held up the second leg of the Budget Session of Parliament seeking that Rahul apologise first for remarks saying democracy was in peril in India.

In its notification on Rahul, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said: “Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Surat in C C /18712/2019, Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala, stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction, i.e. 23 March, 2023, in terms of the provisions of Article 102 (1) (e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951.”

The notification came an hour after the House adjourned following the hurried passage of the Finance Bill with amendments.

When the Lok Sabha met at 11 am, Rahul was already in his seat and stood up when Speaker Om Birla came in. As Birla called for the Question Hour to begin, Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Gaurav Gogoi and K Suresh asked the chair to permit Rahul to speak. The Congress has been demanding that Rahul be allowed to address the House in the backdrop of the BJP mounting attack on him for his alleged anti-India remarks in London.

With the Speaker not obliging, Congress MPs rushed to the Well of the House. “Bolne do, bolne do, Rahul Gandhi ko bolne do (Let him speak),” shouted some of them. The Speaker adjourned the proceedings in a minute, till 12.

When the House met at noon to pass the Finance Bill, Rahul was not present and did not return to the House.