New Delhi:
The BJP and the Congress went to the mattresses Thursday after the former accused Rahul Gandhi of being a “traitor” in a scathing attack naming the Leader of the Opposition, “some agencies of America” and billionaire George Soros in a “dangerous triangle that is trying to destabilise India”.
The Congress responded swiftly and strongly, condemning the attack on Mr Gandhi and also calling out another BJP MP, Nishikant Dubey, for “most derogatory words” targeting Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the newly elected Wayanad MP, and the entire opposition party.
The chaos that followed Mr Dubey’s furious attack prompted chaos in, and a temporary adjournment of, the Lok Sabha.
BJP MP Sambit Patra set the ball rolling this morning with a heated press conference in which he declared, “In this triangle… on one side George Soros from America (and) some agencies of America and, on the other side is a big news portal named OCCRP (the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an Amsterdam-based news network) …” Mr Patra said.
“The last, and most important side, is Rahul Gandhi – a traitor of the highest order. I am not scared to say this word… I don’t have any hesitation in calling the Leader of the Opposition a traitor.”
Mr Patra accused Mr Gandhi of betraying India and claimed he follows OCCRP directives.
“OCCRP is a global media agency and crores of people read what they publish. Open Society Foundation is a big funder… it is George Soros’s foundation. Such agencies work for the interest of the people who fund them and Rahul Gandhi betraying the whole country…” he added.
That charge was picked up and repeated by the BJP’s Nishikant Dubey in the Lok Sabha, triggering vociferous protests from the Congress. Mr Dubey accused the Congress of “conspiring with foreign forces” to derail the government because of their “hatred” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“George Soros routinely conspires to derail economies of other countries. He was the force behind the closure of the Bank of England in 1991. He accrued benefits of over Rs 6 billion from this. Today, he wants to derail the Indian economy,” Mr Dubey claimed.
Mr Dubey, nearly drowned out by shouting Congress MPs and his BJP colleagues thumping their desks in approval, also demanded Mr Gandhi be investigated for meeting with American lawmakers like Ilhan Omar, who are vocal critics of Prime Minister Modi and his administration.
“The Congress must answer… what transpired in meetings with those who have a history of peddling anti-India agenda on Rahul Gandhi’s foreign tours,” he said.
With input from agencies
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