New Delhi: Amid a row over Rahul Gandhi’s jibe at the Narendra Modi government’s foreign policy at a party event a day before, the Congress came in support of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, saying that he didn’t mock anyone and instead accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “spreading lies”.
Gandhi took a swipe at the country’s foreign policy during the Rachnatmak Congress National Convention here on Thursday, suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomacy is only associated with hugging foreign leaders.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, who was present during the event, said: “Rahul Gandhi didn’t mock anyone; he was just talking about our foreign policy.”
He pointed to PM Modi’s reference to former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as “Didi, O Didi” and said: “He (PM Modi) tends to forget what he has said in the past. Renuka Chowdhary was called ‘Surpanakha’ in the Parliament…Rahul Gandhi has been called names; he may have forgotten all of it.”
“So it will be better that an issue is not made on a particular statement; otherwise we also have many questions for them (BJP),” Tiwari told IANS.
According to Congress MP Tariq Anwar, the matter “should be taken lightly”.
“There is no need to take it so seriously…he must have said it in a lighter vein. I was not present (at the event) but according to whatever I have understood, he said it on a lighter note,” he told IANS.
Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai also said: “Rahul Gandhi ji only showed that PM Modi ji’s way of working is like this—hugging people from foreign countries. He did not take anyone’s name. The BJP should not speak lies…He (Gandhi) showed that PM Modi ji’s foreign policy is about hugging people.”
Congress MP Jebi Mather lashed out at the BJP, saying “That is BJP. One word Rahul Gandhi ji says, five leaders of the BJP get up. One line Rahul Gandhi ji makes, ten press conferences are conducted by ten leaders. So, if they think from a comedy point of view, why are they getting so agitated? Why are they retaliating so much? They can just ignore it.”
Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat also attempted to clarify, saying Rahul Gandhi was not referring to Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.
“Rahul Gandhi was referring to the way the Prime Minister travels abroad and the kind of gestures he makes,” he told IANS.
Echoing a similar view, Congress leader Udit Raj said: “Rahul Gandhi just showed PM Modi’s foreign policy…the unnecessary hugs, laughter and handshakes are hurting the dignity of the Prime Minister as well as the nation, and leading to the degradation of our foreign policy.”
(IANS)
