Rahul sparing no effort to break country in name of 'Bharat Jodo': BJP chief J P Nadda

BJP chief J P Nadda on Monday called the Congress a "dynastic" party of "ma, beta and beti" that lacks ideology and makes compromises to grab power and accused Rahul Gandhi of sparing no effort to break the country in the name of unifying it.

Setting the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Nadda compared the "cadre-based BJP" with "family-oriented non-BJP parties", and said the saffron party's focus is on service, good governance and the welfare of the poor.

The BJP president is on a three-day visit to his home state. He was addressing a rally after inaugurating party offices in Nurpur and Palampur in Kangra district.

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"Rahul Gandhi talks about Bharat jodo (unifying India), but spares no effort to break the country. He went to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (in New Delhi) to stand with those who raised slogans in the support of Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru. How can Rahul Gandhi claim to talk about unifying India? He should apologise to the country," Nadda said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also been targeting the former Congress president for his recent remarks made in the United States, alleging that he is belittling India in his zeal to attack the Narendra Modi government.

Nadda said the BJP never diluted its ideological stand and the party-led governments abrogated the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir, started the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, conducted nuclear tests to bring India into a select band of nations, built roads in border areas and made India the fifth-largest economy.

The BJP's focus is on service, "sushasan (good governance)" and "garib kalyan (welfare of the poor)" and its dedicated workers showed their spirit during the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

Nadda also hit out at the opposition parties, saying they failed to reach out to people who needed help during the pandemic.

Dubbing the Congress a party of "ma, beta and beti (mother, son and daughter)", he said it was bereft of any ideology and made compromises with parties with contrasting ideologies only to grab power.

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He also attacked Gandhi for criticising the country during his foreign visits.

Urging the party workers to prepare for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Nadda said it is a matter of pride that the BJP has emerged as the biggest political party in the world.

He described the 10 years of the Congress-led UPA's rule as a "black spot" replete with scandals and scams and said under the BJP, developmental schemes were framed and implemented, strong decisions were taken and the black spot was converted into a bright spot.

The BJP-led NDA government constructed 13,525 km of roads in border areas and 3.28 lakh km of rural roads, Nadda said, adding that a huge expenditure was incurred in the expansion and strengthening of air, road and rail infrastructure. He further said the Centre is committed to ensuring a speedy development of Himachal Pradesh.

Union minister Anurag Thakur, state BJP chief Rajiv Bindal, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and the party's in-charge and co-in-charge for Himachal Pradesh, Avinash Rai Khanna and Sanjay Tandon, were present on the occasion.

Later, Nadda was accorded a rousing reception at Hamirpur by Thakur, former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and other BJP leaders. Subsequently, Nadda held one-on-one discussions with Dhumal.

The BJP chief said he learnt a lot from Dhumal, a two-time former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, and under his guidance, the party will win all the four Lok Sabha seats in the hill state in next year's general election.

Nadda also attended the BJP core committee meeting, in which the ongoing "Jan Sampark Abhiyan" and the party's defeat in the recent Shimla Municipal Corporation polls were reviewed.

Discussions will also be held on the roadmap for the Lok Sabha polls and booth empowerment, besides an approval for revamping the party's organisational structure in the state.