Rajasthan BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP Madan Rathore on Thursday claimed India would stand with its neighbour Pakistan if the latter ever went to war with the US.
"If there were a war between the US and Pakistan today, we would be with Pakistan because they are our neighbours. Am I right? We have to understand that," he said at a gathering, with videos of his speech going viral on social media and sparking sharp reactions from the Congress.
Congress leader Dr Shama Mohamed questioned the BJP's position over the remark and asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah shared this view as well.
"Are @narendramodi and @AmitShah also with Pakistan? If not, let us know what action is being taken against this anti-national," she wrote in a Facebook post resharing the viral video to X as well.
Netizens trolled the video to no end, with one user questioning how things would be if the circumstances were changed.
"If a Muslim had said the same thing in his place, then by now all the defence teams would have broken down, but now no one is saying anything," a user mused on X.
"Hypothetical scenario - better to ignore and move on," another user wrote.
"If this is indeed what was said in the video, the question arises: On what basis, exactly? ... Leaders making such remarks should clearly explain what they mean ... Before preaching patriotism to others, they should also be held accountable for their own statements," a third user pointed out on X.
Notably, Rathore's comments come after he earlier alleged that there was "foreign funding" behind the Opposition INDIA bloc's ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
He claimed that several envious countries wanted to halt the progress of Viksit Bharat, for which they were allegedly providing foreign funding, with an aim to "destabilise the nation".
"Initially, they were funding Rahul Gandhi, but realising that his efforts were actually strengthening the BJP, they groomed others, such as Abhijeet Dipke and several others, and are now funding them instead," he told ANI.
