Congress slams Nadda for ‘juvenile’ response to Mallikarjun Kharge

The Congress on Thursday, 19 September, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must rise above "petty politics" and condemn the actions of the ruling alliance leaders, who targeted leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress asserted the whole world is watching how the ruling BJP is "putting the life of the leader of the opposition in danger".

The assertion came in a letter by AICC general secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh to J.P. Nadda in response to the BJP chief's letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge earlier.

The opposition party slammed as "intemperate" and "juvenile" Nadda's reply to Kharge on his letter to Prime Minister Modi flagging "threats" aimed at Rahul Gandhi.

"The Congress is shocked that the letter written by our president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji to the Prime Minister was passed on to you to respond. The silence of the prime minister on a matter as grave as a threat to the life of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha is very disturbing," Ramesh said in his letter to Nadda.

"Your response to Mallikarjun Kharge's letter to the prime minister is both juvenile and shallow, and a shameful attempt to distract from the serious threats to Rahul Gandhi’s life," he said.

"Before attempting to bestow certificates of nationalism upon the Congress Party -- a party whose leaders have laid down their lives for this nation -- it would serve you well to first reflect on the party and ideology you represent. May you never forget that even before the tragic assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, your ideological forefathers were instrumental in cultivating an atmosphere of violence and hatred against Bapu," he added.

The Congress under the leadership of stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi has always championed the unity and integrity of India, Ramesh asserted.

This unwavering commitment continues under the leadership of Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, who unlike the BJP leaders, have consistently stood up for justice for the backward castes, minorities, farmers, women and the youth, the Congress leader said in his letter in Hindi.

In striking contrast to the Congress' politics of inclusion and progressivism, the BJP has mastered the art of cheap politics, of using hatred and polarisation to distract people from the glaring failures of its government, he alleged.

"It is no surprise that the leaders of BJP have made such abhorrent comments about Rahul Gandhi when the prime minister himself - in his election campaigns - delivers a master class in divisive rhetoric, religious polarisation and cheap vitriol," Ramesh said.

"We urge the prime minister to rise beyond petty politics, condemn the actions of his party leaders and take strong action to set an example for others. His silence only emboldens these anti-India elements that are attempting to disrupt the peace of the country by threatening violence against the Leader of the Opposition," he said.

The whole world is watching how the ruling party of India is putting the life of the Leader of the Opposition in danger, Ramesh said.

Congress general secretary, in-charge organisation, K.C. Venugopal said Nadda’s reply to Kharge “smacks of arrogance and clearly shows that since Prime Minister Modi could not even get himself to respond on this very serious issue”, the attacks on Rahul Gandhi have his full support.

"The BJP is single handedly responsible for the plummeting standard of political discourse in India," Venugopal said on X.

Earlier, in a post on X, Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Modi, saying there was once a PM who, for 17 years, replied to each and every official and personal letter sent to him.

"Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh writes to the non-biological PM on COVID-19.The health minister is given an abusive reply to send in his name. Congress president and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge ji writes to non-biological PM on the grave threats being hurled at the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi by Mr Modi's colleagues. The BJP President is given the task of sending an intemperate and senseless reply," he said in a post on X.

"There was once a PM who, for seventeen years, replied to each and every official and personal letter sent to him - as over a 100 volumes of his Selected Works will testify," Ramesh said in an obvious reference to India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

"But self-proclaimed divinities are different I suppose," the Congress leader added.

His remarks came after BJP president Nadda accused Rahul Gandhi of having a history of abusing Prime Minister Modi and the OBCs, and of siding with the anti-India forces.

In his letter to Kharge, Nadda cited his party's own litany of complaints against the LoP and other Congress members for their choice of words against the prime minister.

"Under what compulsion are you trying to justify Rahul Gandhi," the BJP president asked his Congress counterpart in a three-page letter written in Hindi.

On Tuesday, Kharge had raised with Prime Minister Modi the issue of "extremely objectionable" and violent statements by the ruling alliance members targeting Rahul Gandhi and urged him to discipline his leaders.

In his letter to Modi, Kharge had asserted that strict legal action should be taken against those giving such statements so that Indian politics can be prevented from degenerating and nothing untoward happens.