New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday slammed the Congress over its ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’, alleging that it was agitating against the country’s Constitution and the court verdict against Rahul Gandhi to justify his remarks against the entire backward community of the country.
Addressing a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also dubbed the Congress stir as an insult to Mahatma Gandhi, saying while the Father of the Nation had organised Satyagraha for social causes, the Congress was holding “so-called Satyagraha” for personal reasons.
The Congress agitation is a “brazen” display of its “arrogance and indiscipline” after Gandhi’s conviction in a defamation case in Gujarat and his automatic disqualification as Lok Sabha MP as a result of the court’s verdict, he charged.
The agitation has nothing to do with fighting for truth, he added.
The BJP leader said Gandhi was convicted by a court in Surat after the due legal process and his disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP was an automatic consequence under the relevant law. “Then, Satyagraha for what?” he asked.
“Is it to justify the way you insulted the entire backward community of the country, or against the court which sentenced you, or against the provision under which you have to be disqualified,” he said, asking Congress to clarify.
Stating that some of the Congress leaders who were allegedly involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were also participating in the party’s agitation, the BJP leader asked the opposition party to clarify if their Satyagraha organised at Mahatma Gandhi’s Samadhi Sthal in Rajghat was also against ‘Ahimsa’ (non-violence).
He also hit out at the Congress over Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari’s reported remark that the Gandhi family should be treated differently by the law, and asked if the party considers itself “superior” to the judiciary.
“They still want one set of laws for common people and another for their family… they will decide in what manner and on what basis the courts should pass their final verdict,” the BJP spokesperson charged.
The Congress has alleged political vendetta and claimed that Gandhi has been targeted as he has raised the Adani issue.
The BJP leader said all the allegations being levelled by the Congress and its leaders are “baseless”.
“Whatever you say or use abusive words against the BJP, we accept peacefully. We remained silent when you spewed venom against Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
The BJP leader also questioned the silence of the “champions of rights of Dalit and backward communities” over Gandhi’s remark, saying the entire country would have been set on fire had someone else made “such a derogatory remark” against the community.
“It seems all of them have gone into maun saadhna (silent meditation). It’s strange,” he said.
Replying to questions, Trivedi said it’s “very sad” that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra “compared” her brother Gandhi with Lord Ram.
The BJP spokesperson also criticised Rahul Gandhi for his “I am not Savarkar remark”, saying the Congress leader can never “even in his dreams” match the level of patriotism and bravery that V D Savarkar had shown during India’s freedom struggle.
