Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his statements in Washington DC, saying that tarnishing the country's image abroad is a crime like treason and no patriot can do this.
Speaking to ANI, Chouhan said, "Rahul Gandhi is the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and he is also accountable for the country. Going out of the country and tarnishing the country's image is a crime like treason, no patriot can do this. But Rahul seems to have become frustrated with the Congress after losing for the third time in a row and is venting his frustration out in America by spoiling the country's image."
Chouhan's claim that Gandhi's remarks were "anti-national" suggests that Gandhi's statements, made while abroad, were damaging to India's image on the global stage. Party politics involving Congress, BJP etc should be confined to the nation and one must realise he or she is representing the country when abroad, he said, citing the statesmanship of stalwart Atal Bihar Vajpayee.
"There is Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) within the country, but when we go abroad, we only represent the country like former Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji used to do," he said.
The Union Minister also recalled his past visit to America and said that when asked about whether the then Prime Minister of India was an underachiever, he had answered that an Indian PM could never be an underachiever.
"When I also went to America once, Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister of India at that time. When I was asked a question there whether the Prime Minister of India is an underachiever, I answered that he is the Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of India can never be an underachiever. He is the leader of the country, this is the feeling of the country," Chouhan said.
On Gandhi’s remark that no one is afraid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chouhan said this was indeed true “since people love Modi ji and that is why they have made him PM for a third consecutive time and Under Modi, India is becoming “atmanirbhar” and will soon become the third largest economy in the world.
No one can become big with a small heart, the senior BJP leader said in a swipe at Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi is on a visit to the United States. He is in Washington for two days before departing for Delhi. Earlier on Monday, he addressed the Indian diaspora in Virginia. Gandhi, who arrived in Dallas on Sunday, also interacted with students and teachers at the University of Texas and also addressed the members of the Indian diaspora in Dallas.
(Inputs from agencies)
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