New Delhi:
A BJP leader's diatribe against Rahul Gandhi — that he is the “number one terrorist” — has escalated into a major spat, with Congress and BJP leaders engaged in a no-holds-barred epistle war. First, it was Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge who wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to which BJP leader JP Nadda responded this morning. While it was formally replied to by Jairam Ramesh, the Congress' communications chief, a barrage of verbal criticism came from the party's other leaders. With each letter, the stings became sharper.
“The Congress is shocked that the letter written by our President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji to the Prime Minister has been passed on to you for your response… Your response to Mallikarjun Kharge’s letter to the Prime Minister is both childish and superficial, and a shameful attempt to divert attention from the serious threats to the life of Rahul Gandhi,” Mr Ramesh wrote.
“Before you try to give certificates of nationalism to the Congress party, a party whose leaders have sacrificed their lives for this nation, it would do you good to first think about the party and the ideology you represent. May you never forget that even before the tragic assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, your ideological forefathers were instrumental in cultivating an atmosphere of violence and hatred against Bapu,” he added.
In stark contrast to the Congress's politics of inclusivity and progressivism, the BJP is a master in the art of “cheap politics, of using hatred and polarisation to distract people from the glaring shortcomings of its government,” he further wrote.
The letter was sparked by Mr Nadda's sharp response to Mr Kharge, in which he listed the opposition's negative remarks about the prime minister. Congress leaders, from the top down, had insulted the prime minister 110 times in the past 10 years, he wrote.
“Wasn't it Rahul Gandhi's mother Sonia Gandhi who called PM Modi a 'Maut ka Saudagar (merchant of death)'? You and your party leaders have always glorified such unfortunate and shameful statements… Why did the Congress forget the principles of political propriety then? When Rahul Gandhi publicly declared, 'We will tarnish Modi's image', who was responsible for shattering political decorum, Kharge? I understand that defending and glorifying your perennially failing product is a compulsion for you, but as Congress president, you should have pondered on these issues,” Mr Nadda wrote.
“On one hand, you preach political propriety, but on the other hand, your party's history is full of examples of trampling on it. Why this double standard?” the BJP leader wrote.
Rahul Gandhi had faced a barrage of criticism from the BJP over his remarks in the US. As the level of discourse plummeted, the Congress leader wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi, asking him to “impose discipline and decency on your leaders”.
Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Sunday wondered if those who “make bombs” were supporting Mr Gandhi, noting that he is the “number one terrorist”. Sanjay Gaikwad, MLA from the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, went a step further and announced that he would give Rs 11 lakh to anyone who cuts off Mr Gandhi's tongue.
