Rahul defaming India from foreign soil: BJP

Congress president Rahul Gandhi's sharp criticism of the Modi government from Bahrain, while promising a new "shining Congress" prompted the BJP to accuse him of trying to spread hatred abroad.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress president doesn't see the work done by the BJP government.

"I am not only surprised but amused at the kind of statements being made by the president of the Congress party. Rahul Gandhi's attempt to malign India's image on foreign soil is highly shameful," he said at a press conference.

"The BJP condemns this irresponsible utterance by Rahul during a global interaction. It is not the BJP, but the Congress that is playing the politics of hatred. The party has a long history of playing such politics," he said.

The law minister said "Rahul's speech shows that he  and his associates haven't done their homework. His speeches are helping people like Umar Khalid, who have openly raised slogans for dividing India".

Prasad questioned Rahul's silence on the killings of BJP  and RSS workers in Kerala and Karnataka.

"Why doesn't he see the politics of hate when Sangh's activists are brutally murdered in these states?" he said.

Rahul was on a two-day visit to Bahrain. In his address  - the first since he took over as the Congress chief  - he  said  the government is dividing people on the basis of caste and religion and that it was channeling the fear unemployed youth have into a "hatred between communities".

"The party that cannot take a stand on women's rights, dignity and honour is trying to teach us standing on foreign soil. Rahul must clarify whether the stand taken by the Congress is politics of 'love' or 'hatred'. The grand old party stands exposed today. From Shah Bano to Shayara Bano (one of the petitioners  in  the triple talaq case), Congress has played the politics of appeasement."