Hitting back at BJP chief JP Nadda for his criticism of Rahul Gandhi’s remarks made in the UK, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said those who are “anti-nationals” themselves must not preach his party about patriotism and must learn from it instead. Kharge’s attack came after Nadda slammed Gandhi over his recent comments made in the United Kingdom on the state of Indian democracy, charging him with becoming a “permanent part of the toolkit” working against India.
Kharge said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is making such allegations to hide and divert attention from the “horrifying unemployment, backbreaking price rise and the scam of its ‘best friend’”.
Asked about Nadda calling Gandhi “anti-national”, Kharge told reporters, “They are anti-nationals from before. Even at the time of independence, they (BJP people) did not participate in the movement to get freedom for the country. Those who are anti-nationals themselves are calling others anti-national.” In a series of tweets, Kharge said those who did not contribute even an iota in the freedom struggle are the real “anti-nationals”.
“Modi ji himself has gone to six-seven countries and said on foreign soil that ‘people of India are saying that what sin did we commit that we were born in India’. Such a person is calling us anti-national?” he asked in a tweet. Accusing Modi of insulting the citizens of the country, Kharge called on the prime minister to apologise. He said the Congress strongly condemns Nadda’s remarks, adding that the BJP chief should know that Modi went to China, the United States, South Korea and “insulted the citizens of India”.
Lauding Gandhi, Kharge said someone who talks about democracy and shows concern over it cannot be an anti-national and is a “true patriot”. “If Rahul Gandhi ji gets a chance to speak in Parliament, we will give a befitting reply to these allegations of the BJP,” he said.
