Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: X/@INCIndia
New Delhi/Ranchi: The BJP and key ally TDP on Monday hit out at Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in the US on unemployment in India and the RSS, accusing the Congress leader of “promoting” China and “undermining” India abroad and calling him a "black spot" in Indian democracy.
While Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accused Gandhi of trying to project China as the best nation, Civil Aviation Minister and Telugu Desam(TDP) leader K Ram Mohan Naidu alleged that the Leader of the Opposition was making efforts to "demean" India on the global stage.
After the BJP attack on Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge backed him and slammed the ruling party, asserting he had never "insulted" India and would never do so. The BJP needs an excuse to raise such issues, he said.
"He (Gandhi) has never insulted India and will never do so. This is our promise." "But BJP needs an excuse to raise such issues," Kharge told reporters on the sidelines of a book launch event when asked to comment on the BJP attack.
Chief Minister Sarma alleged that Rahul Gandhi "promotes" China in various ways.
"Undermining India, he tries to project China as the best nation. But, there is no democracy and no religious freedom for people in China. But, Gandhi doesn’t talk about them," Sarma told reporters at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi.
Gaurav Bhatia, a national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party, accused Gandhi of trying to weaken Indian democracy with his remarks abroad, in accordance with a “memorandum of understanding” (MoU) reportedly signed between the Congress and the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) during the UPA rule.
"But I feel sad to say that Rahul Gandhi is a black spot in Indian democracy. He does not even know what to talk about when he visits a foreign country," Bhatia told a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Delhi.
Bhatia was replying to questions on Gandhi's remarks against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP, and also on the unemployment situation in India during his interactions in the US.
Love, respect and humility are missing in Indian politics, Gandhi said while addressing the Indian American community in Dallas in Texas, where he also accused the RSS and the BJP of believing that women should stay at home.
The Congress leader made the remarks on Sunday during his first interaction with the Indian diaspora on his current visit to the US.
At a meeting with students at the University of Texas, Gandhi underscored the need to focus on manufacturing in India, saying India, the US and other countries in the West are facing the problem of unemployment while China is not as it is dominating global production.
The former Congress chief also said there is no shortage of skills in India and that the country could compete with China if it starts aligning itself for production.
"Everybody knows that Rahul Gandhi is an immature and part-time leader. But people have put a huge responsibility on his shoulders since he became the leader of opposition (in the Lok Sabha)," Bhatia said at his news conference.
Bhatia also said Gandhi cannot "utter a single word or give a statement against China".
"He weakens India.... He stands by China." Bhatia claimed that the Congress had signed a "party-to-party MoU with China" during its rule.
"The series of efforts that Rahul Gandhi has been making to weaken Indian democracy is the outcome of that MoU. If I am wrong, I dare Rahul Gandhi and (Congress president) Mallikarjun Kharge to make the MoU public.” Minister Naidu wondered why Gandhi says India is not able to do this or that when he goes abroad.
"Why is he going to other countries and saying India is not able to do this? He should be trying to help the situation here, trying to motivate more people to get skilled. He is trying to demean the country on the global stage," he told reporters in Delhi.
Naidu said said there are a good number of opportunities that are available in India and they need to be connected through proper skilling.
"It is a continuous progress, in the last ten years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji, we have improved the number of employment opportunities in the country." Union minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Chouhan said the RSS has raised lakhs of volunteers “who dedicate their body, mind and entire life to the country”.
“Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the opposition, and the leader of the opposition is also accountable to the country, and going abroad and tarnishing the country's image is a crime like treason. No patriot does this, but it seems that Rahul Gandhi is frustrated after the Congress losing (in Lok Sabha polls three times in a row,” he said in Bhopal.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari accused Gandhi of spreading lies about the country, the RSS and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked the Congress leader to fight the “political battles” in the country, not abroad.