Following the Supreme Court’s rap over his remarks against the Indian Army, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi drew flak from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which accused him of demoralising the Indian armed forces. The BJP said after his “weak responses to cross-border aggression”, Rahul Gandhi and his family have no right to comment on the China issue.
Addressing the media here, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia referred to the ongoing legal proceedings concerning Rahul Gandhi’s social media post alleging that several thousand square kilometres of Indian territory had been annexed by China. Rahul Gandhi had also claimed that Indian soldiers were being “thrashed” by their Chinese counterparts in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Does Rahul Gandhi, who has sworn to uphold the Constitution as Leader of Opposition, not realise the gravity of his statements? The Supreme Court has made it clear – ‘If you are a true Indian, you would not say this.’ This raises a serious question: Does Bharat deserve a better Leader of Opposition?” Bhatia remarked.
The Supreme Court had earlier in the day stayed proceedings in the criminal defamation case against Gandhi, related to his remarks on the 2020 Galwan Valley clash with China. This came while hearing his appeal against the Allahabad High Court judgment that had refused to stay the trial initiated in Lucknow.
Bhatia further questioned whether Rahul Gandhi was undermining the sovereignty of the nation and aiding those inimical to India’s interests. “Is he demoralising the brave Indian armed forces? Is this conduct befitting a constitutional office bearer” he asked.
The criticism was echoed by BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh, who in his post on social media platform X accused the Gandhi family of displaying “meek responses” to cross-border aggression.
“Supreme Court has rapped Sri @RahulGandhi on the knuckles for his irresponsible statements on border issues & Galwan clash . He & his family have zero right to comment on China issue after all compromises & meek responses to cross border aggression.”
“Do you have any credible material ? If you were a true Indian , you would not say all this” – This rap on knuckle by Supreme Court is enough for a life time penance. But for shameless @RahulGandhi & his psychophant gang there is no bottom line ( ??? ) in public life.”
