‘Democracy not in peril…’: BJP’s fresh attack on Rahul amid Parliament showdown

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday continued its attack on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his speech in London wherein he had alleged that democracy in India was under attack.

Union minister Smriti Irani demanded that the Wayanad MP apologise for his ‘undemocratic rant’ against India. “Mr. Gandhi, Democracy is not in peril, but the Congress Party has been brought to political perish by the people of India for this very behaviour that you exhibited against the nation overseas”, she said.

“Today, every Indian citizen demands an apology to the Indian Parliament, which is not mere an amalgamation of the Parliamentarians but is the collective voice of the Indian people, and the Constitutional reflection of the will of the Indian people”, the BJP leader said.

On Tuesday, Parliament was adjourned for the day due to the standoff between the BJP and the Congress over Gandhi’s criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government. The BJP is insisting that Gandhi offer a public apology for his remarks delivered in the UK. The Grand Old Party claimed that the BJP insulted Parliament and should apologise.

“I believe this is a very serious issue over which the entire country and members are angry. The defamation of Parliament, the way in which the country’s pride has been hurt…The leader who attempted to ruin the country’s image, those who attacked the country abroad and spread misconceptions about the country’s Parliament…He must apologise over this in the Parliament,” Union minister Piyush Goyal said yesterday in Rajya Sabha.

Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda, who was present during Gandhi’s interactions in the UK, hit back at the BJP. “Please stop promoting and propagating lies about what Rahul Gandhi said in London. Were you there? Did you see the video? Do you really know what he said? In what context? What was the main message?”, he said.

Stating that the Congress MP never asked for foreign help, Pitroda said,””For clarification, please note that Rahul Gandhi basically said the following: 1. Indian Democracy is Global Public Good. 2. The state of democracy in India is of concern. 3. It is an Indian problem, and we will deal with it.”