BJP, Congress intensify war of words as PM Modi visits US

Posters attacking PM creations of ‘Anti-India hate shop’, tied to Rahul’s recent US trip: Trivedi

With posters attacking PM Narendra Modi circulating in the US on the day he reached there, BJP attacked Rahul Gandhi for the campaign linking it to leader of opposition’s recent visit to the country.

Dubbing the posters as creations of “anti-India hate shop”, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, “There is suspicion among Indians that if it is an outcome of Rahul Gandhi’s warm meetings with the established and sponsored anti-India groups there as he has returned from the US only a few days back. Or is it the same group which was facilitating meetings of these pawns of anti-India forces with Rahul Gandhi,” he said in a statement.

The poster, shared by BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya on X, reads, “Protest: Modi, You’re Not Welcome in New York” and calls on people to “raise your voice against a decade of oppression.” A demonstration is planned for Sunday, September 22, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island.

Trivedi said what is painful about the “low blow” from this “nafrat ki dukan” (hate shop) is that it is directed at a Prime Minister who took India to among the five top economies from ‘Fragile Five’, lifted over 26 crore people out of extreme poverty, turned the country into a pioneer in digital revolution and strengthened its internal and external security. The frustration arising from India’s growing power and acceptance is born out of jealousy and nervousness, Trivedi said. “This is an objectionable poster,” Trivedi said. “It is a hate advertisement and it is beyond doubt that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi got the meeting and support of those forces who are declared enemies of India…”

Malviya said Gandhi’s overseas engagements have consistently been detrimental to India’s image. “Every time Rahul Gandhi goes abroad, he indulges in the most divisive anti-India politics, including hobnobbing with agencies and collaborating with forces inimical to India’s interest. He has gone to the extent of pleading with western powers to interfere in Indian politics.”

BJP spreading lies, says Rahul, stands by his remarks on Sikhs

Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi justified his recent remarks in the US that the “fight” in India is not about politics but whether a Sikh is allowed to wear turban and kada, and can visit gurdwara and all are free to practice their religion without fear.

His post on X, an assertion that he does not regret his remarks, came after the BJP cited a joint statement of various Sikh groups to ask Rahul to withdraw his statement.

Rahul said, “The BJP has been spreading lies about my remarks in America. I want to ask every Sikh brother and sister in India and abroad – is there anything wrong in what I have said? Shouldn’t India be a country where every Sikh – and every Indian – can freely practice their religion without fear?”

He added, “They are desperate to silence me because they cannot stand the truth… but I will always speak up for the values that define India: our unity in diversity, equality, and love.”

At a gathering of Indian-Americans in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC, Gandhi recently said, “first of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. That is superficial.” In the clip, Gandhi then asked a Sikh man sitting among the audience: “what is your name, brother with the turban?”

After the man shared his name, Gandhi said: “The fight is about whether he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or he, as a Sikh, is going to be allowed to wear a ‘kada’ in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to a gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions”.

“And what the RSS is basically saying is that certain states are inferior to other states, certain languages are inferior to other languages, certain religions are inferior to other religions and certain communities are inferior to other communities. This is what the fight is about,” Gandhi added.

Courtesy : TOI

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