No place in democracy for those who don’t believe in it: BJP president Nadda targets Rahul Gandhi

PTI, Mar 19, 2023, 1:27 PM IST

BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday accused Rahul Gandhi of overstepping all bounds of democracy and said he should be sent packing ”lock, stock and barrel” in a democratic manner.

”Those who do not believe in democracy have no place in democracy,” Nadda said in his virtual address after inaugurating the ‘National Youth parliament’ of his party’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, being held in Chennai. The Congress has become mentally bankrupt, Nadda said while alleging that Gandhi ”instigated” foreign powers like the US and European countries to interfere in India’s internal affairs by claiming that they were ”oblivious” while democracy was under threat in India. ”Rahul Gandhi has crossed all bounds of democracy,” he said.

What kind of statements he makes, Nadda asked, saying people of India do not listen to him, but merely tolerate him.

”Rahul Gandhi not merely insulted the nation by his shameful remarks about the democratic values of India, but has also invited the foreign nations to intervene in our country,” the BJP president said.

The Congress, however, has rejected the BJP’s charge, with Gandhi seeking permission to speak in Parliament to answer the ruling party members’ criticism of his comments in Britain.

The Congress has claimed that the BJP is ”misrepresenting” his remarks to divert attention from the Adani issue.

Parliament’s budget session has been a washout since the beginning of its second part on March 13, with the BJP demanding an apology from Gandhi. During his interactions in the UK, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the structures of Indian democracy were under attack and there was a ”full-scale assault” on the country’s institutions. Gandhi’s remarks have triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and seeking foreign interventions, and the Congress hitting back at the ruling party by citing instances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising internal politics abroad.