A day after the Congress leader Gaurav Pandhi called former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee-- a “British Informer”-- the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the statement and questioned the "intention" of the grand old party as its senior leader Rahul Gandhi visited the memorial of the stalwart leader on Monday. The major row erupted following a critical tweet of Pandhi, where he called Vajpayee-- a “British Informer” during India’s freedom struggle.
"In 1942, like all other members of the RSS, Atal Bihari Vajpayee boycotted the Quit India Movement and worked as a British Informer reporting against those who participated in the Andolan. Be it Nellie massacre or demolition of Babri, Vajpayee played an imp role in inciting mobs (sic),” Pandhi tweeted. In another tweet, he wrote, "There is a reason why BJP leaders today always liken Modi with Gandhi, Patel or other Congress leaders and not Savarkar, Vajpayee or Golwalkar. They know the truth!"
Pandhi deleted the controversial tweets
Though Pandhi later deleted the tweet, this created a major row as Congress had already announced that Rahul would visit the memorial of the stalwart leader. Subsequently, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla slammed Pandhi and the grand old party and argued the statement was "insulting" and demanded Congress to sack him. "On one hand, Rahul Gandhi pretended to pay respect to Vajpayee ji by visiting his Samadhi. On other hand, Gaurav Pandhi insults Vajpayee ji on a day we celebrated his legacy. Rahul’s hypocrisy is now exposed. If Rahul, Congress truly respect Vajpayee ji then sack him," said Poonawalla in a tweet.
Rahul pays tribute to Vajpayee
Rahul Gandhi on Monday morning was seen on a streak to pay tributes to former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri at Vijay Ghat, Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, former PM Jawaharlal Nehru at Shanti Van, former PM Indira Gandhi at Shakti Sthal and former PM Rajiv Gandhi at Veer Bhumi. Earlier, Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its 108th day on Saturday and was paused for a nine-day break till January 3 in Delhi. Gandhi accused the BJP of spreading communal hatred across the country to divert the attention of people from real issues and use it as a "weapon" to destroy the poor, as his Bharat Jodo Yatra reached the national capital on Saturday.
Addressing a rally outside the Red Fort here, Gandhi said he did not witness violence or hatred anywhere in the country while walking hundreds of kilometres from Kanyakumari to Delhi and his Yatra was a true reflection of India, but he sees hatred being spread on television all the time at the behest of the powers controlling the media. "Even dogs, cows, buffaloes, pigs entered the Yatra, but no one attacked them. There is no hatred, or violence during the Yatra. If anyone fell, people picked them up in a second. This is real India," he noted.
The former Congress chief attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging they spent thousands of crores of rupees to destroy his image, but he has shown the truth to the country in just a month.
Gandhi thanked people for the love and support showered on him so far during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which entered its 108th day on Saturday and will resume on January 3 after a nine-day break.
Also Read: Rahul Gandhi pays tributes to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Sadaiv Atal day after his birth anniversary
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