The Congress on Friday reacted strongly to BJP President Amit Shah’s attack on Rahul Gandhi, saying those who have been to jail and have murder cases registered against them are finding fault with the origins of the party's vice president.
The party also defended Rahul’s statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was brokering the blood shed by soldiers on the border, with party leader Kapil Sibal explaining that what the Congress scion said was that Modi and his party colleagues should not try to seek political mileage out of the sacrifices made by soldiers.
Reacting sharply to Shah’s attacks on Rahul, Sibal said, “Will people who have been to jail now tell us that there is a flaw in our origin?...Will those who have murder cases registered against them tell us that there is a flaw in Rahul Gandhi’s origins?”
Sibal said this amounted to the BJP finding flaws in Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders who fought for independence.
He also hit out at the BJP for saying it was for the first time that the Indian Army had crossed the LoC. “Did Modi, Parrikar and Shah cross the LoC in 1965? And who had crossed the LoC in the 1971 war? In 1999, during the Kargil war, who had crossed the LoC”?
Sibal said the BJP has caused a grave insult to the army, with its leaders saying it was weak before the party came to power. “You have insulted the army. You should apologise to the army”.
Referring to Shah’s statement that the saffron party would take the army's surgical strikes to the people, he said it was clear that the BJP was trying to draw political mileage from the action of the armed forces. He pointed out that there is an order of the Election Commission, asking political parties to exercise great caution while referring to the armed forces.
When asked if the use of the word `dalali’ (brokerage) by Rahul while talking about Modi trying to gain political mileage out of the surgical strikes was a well thought out move or a spontaneous one, Sibal said, “Rahul Gandhi knew what he said. His thought process was clear. People of the country understand that thought process”.
The party has also uploaded a video on the Youtube in which it collated excerpts from Modi’s speeches about the armed forces which are allegedly derogatory.
