New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) The BJP today came down heavily on Congress MP and leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi for his remarks made abroad, terming them as “repeated attempts to malign India’s image on foreign soil.”
Addressing the media here, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Gandhi of being a “thorn” in the country’s side, citing his latest comments on the state of democracy in India during his ongoing visit to Colombia.
Trivedi pointed out that within the last 24 to 36 hours, two contrasting narratives have unfolded in the country. On one hand, India celebrated the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the world’s largest cultural organisation devoted to the nation for over a century. In a historic gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a Rs 100 coin bearing the image of Mother Bharat for the first time on this occasion.
On the other hand, the leader of a 140-year-old political party issued another anti-national statement from foreign soil, he said.
Highlighting India’s remarkable progress, Trivedi cited a January 2023 report by the Global Times which acknowledged India’s rapid institutional reforms that have significantly strengthened its economy.
Why Gandhi, during his foreign visits, refrains from acknowledging India’s accomplishments such as the December 2024 Cambridge University case study on India’s digital transformation under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership and the Stanford AI Index, which ranks India first in AI skills investment and among the top four in AI vibrancy globally, the BJP leader questioned.
Instead, Trivedi alleged, Rahul Gandhi chooses platforms such as Stanford University to make derogatory, disrespectful, and baseless remarks about the country.
The BJP spokesperson further questioned the unique credentials that prompt foreign universities to invite Gandhi, while numerous distinguished Congress leaders do not receive such invitations. He pointed out that Gandhi is not invited to speak at any Indian universities, raising concerns about why he is sought after abroad.
Yesterday, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad had made similar allegations, asserting that instead of extending good wishes on India’s festival days, Gandhi resorts to attacking the nation with unfounded accusations.
“He claims there is no democracy, whereas democracy in India is vibrant and intact. His real problem is his insatiable hunger for power,” Prasad stated.
Referring to Gandhi’s remarks in Bogota, where he reportedly claimed that Indian citizens lack freedom of speech, Prasad accused him of “abusing” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and undermining India’s developmental achievements.
