By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of spreading mischief and alleging that the ruling party has turned more desperate ever since the successful launch of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
The Congress was objecting to a tweet put out by BJP leaders about Rahul Gandhi’s conversation with a Christian priest about Jesus being God.
AICC general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said BJP’s “hate factory” is sharing tweets about Gandhi which has no relation to the audio.
“An atrocious tweet from the BJP hate factory is doing the rounds. It bears no relation whatsoever to what is recorded in the audio. This is typical BJP mischief that has become more desperate after the successful launch of BharatJodoYatra which is evoking such a huge response,” Ramesh tweeted.
“People who were responsible for the killing of Mahatma Gandhi and the murders of people like Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh are raising questions! What a morbid joke! Such attempts to damage the spirit of #BharatJodoYatra will fail miserably,” he said in another tweet.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, while sharing the video of Gandhi with a priest, said, “George Ponnaiah who met Rahul Gandhi says ‘Jesus is the only God unlike Shakti (& other Gods)’.”
ALSO READ | ‘Made my decision, will answer if I don’t stand for polls’: Rahul on being Congress chief again
“This man was arrested for his Hindu hatred earlier – he also said ‘I wear shoes because impurities of Bharat Mata should not contaminate us’. Bharat Jodo with Bharat Todo icons,” Poonawalla tweeted.
Gandhi is undertaking the 3,570-km ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to connect with people across the country while seeking to strengthen the Congress party, which has suffered successive electoral defeats in the last few years.
Gandhi on Friday said it is easier for many of them to make peace with the BJP and “fold hands” before it but his character is to fight for a certain idea of India.
The former Congress chief also said the BJP has taken control of all the institutions of the country and now the fight is between the structure of the Indian state and the Opposition.
Asked about leaders quitting the Congress and criticising the party, Gandhi said, “Obviously, the BJP has better means of putting pressure on them than I do.”
His remarks at a press conference here during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra came days after leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Jaiveer Shergill quit the party and strongly criticised it.
There has been an internal churning in the Congress as well and some leaders have criticised the party on some issues.
“The BJP has taken control of all the institutions of this country. They have inserted their people in most of the institutions, they pressure through these institutions. You know the role of the CBI, of the ED, of the Income tax department. You know how they deal with these things. So, we are not fighting anymore a political party, we used to fight a political party,” he said.
“Now, the fight is not between one political party and another political party. Now the fight is between the structure of the Indian state and the Opposition and everybody understands this. Now, this is not an easy fight. This is a difficult fight,” Gandhi said.
He claimed that the media is not with the Opposition because journalists were under pressure due to owners having particular relationships.
“So this is not an easy fight and a lot of people don’t want to fight, lot of people feel, why get caught up. It is easier to go, make peace with the BJP, fold hands in front of them, and your life will be easier. Unfortunately, this is not my training. This is not my character,” he said.
ALSO READ | ‘Bharat Jodo’ cuts off Odisha, breaks heart of Congress leaders
Gandhi said his character is to fight for a certain idea of India, a certain notion of this country.
“There are many-many people in the Congress party and in the opposition, who are convinced of this fact. So that is really what the fight is between,” he said.
Speaking to the media during the yatra which started from Kanyakumari on Thursday, he said the idea of this march is to connect with the people, listen to them, understand what they are facing and also communicate to them a few things.
Gandhi said the aim is to communicate that India has changed and the “institutional framework of India has been captured”.
“There is an attempt to place one vision on top of this country which has multiple visions. One vision is being enforced,” he said, adding the yatra is a step to communicate that to the people.
“The yatra will of course help in bringing together the Opposition but that is a separate exercise,” the former Congress chief said when asked about what is being done for Opposition unity.
Responding to another question, Gandhi said it is the responsibility of the entire Opposition to come together.
“Every party has a role in it, it’s not that the Congress party is the only party, every party has a role in it, and that discussion is in progress,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi, along with several of his party colleagues, embarked on the 3,570-km ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from here on Thursday.
Amid sounds of drum beats, a sea of tricolour and slogans of “Bharat Jodo”, the march began from Vivekananda College Road, Agasteeswaram, here on Thursday.
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of spreading mischief and alleging that the ruling party has turned more desperate ever since the successful launch of the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
The Congress was objecting to a tweet put out by BJP leaders about Rahul Gandhi’s conversation with a Christian priest about Jesus being God.
AICC general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said BJP’s “hate factory” is sharing tweets about Gandhi which has no relation to the audio.
“An atrocious tweet from the BJP hate factory is doing the rounds. It bears no relation whatsoever to what is recorded in the audio. This is typical BJP mischief that has become more desperate after the successful launch of BharatJodoYatra which is evoking such a huge response,” Ramesh tweeted.
“People who were responsible for the killing of Mahatma Gandhi and the murders of people like Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh are raising questions! What a morbid joke! Such attempts to damage the spirit of #BharatJodoYatra will fail miserably,” he said in another tweet.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, while sharing the video of Gandhi with a priest, said, “George Ponnaiah who met Rahul Gandhi says ‘Jesus is the only God unlike Shakti (& other Gods)’.”
ALSO READ | ‘Made my decision, will answer if I don’t stand for polls’: Rahul on being Congress chief again
“This man was arrested for his Hindu hatred earlier – he also said ‘I wear shoes because impurities of Bharat Mata should not contaminate us’. Bharat Jodo with Bharat Todo icons,” Poonawalla tweeted.
Gandhi is undertaking the 3,570-km ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to connect with people across the country while seeking to strengthen the Congress party, which has suffered successive electoral defeats in the last few years.
Gandhi on Friday said it is easier for many of them to make peace with the BJP and “fold hands” before it but his character is to fight for a certain idea of India.
The former Congress chief also said the BJP has taken control of all the institutions of the country and now the fight is between the structure of the Indian state and the Opposition.
Asked about leaders quitting the Congress and criticising the party, Gandhi said, “Obviously, the BJP has better means of putting pressure on them than I do.”
His remarks at a press conference here during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra came days after leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Jaiveer Shergill quit the party and strongly criticised it.
There has been an internal churning in the Congress as well and some leaders have criticised the party on some issues.
“The BJP has taken control of all the institutions of this country. They have inserted their people in most of the institutions, they pressure through these institutions. You know the role of the CBI, of the ED, of the Income tax department. You know how they deal with these things. So, we are not fighting anymore a political party, we used to fight a political party,” he said.
“Now, the fight is not between one political party and another political party. Now the fight is between the structure of the Indian state and the Opposition and everybody understands this. Now, this is not an easy fight. This is a difficult fight,” Gandhi said.
He claimed that the media is not with the Opposition because journalists were under pressure due to owners having particular relationships.
“So this is not an easy fight and a lot of people don’t want to fight, lot of people feel, why get caught up. It is easier to go, make peace with the BJP, fold hands in front of them, and your life will be easier. Unfortunately, this is not my training. This is not my character,” he said.
ALSO READ | ‘Bharat Jodo’ cuts off Odisha, breaks heart of Congress leaders
Gandhi said his character is to fight for a certain idea of India, a certain notion of this country.
“There are many-many people in the Congress party and in the opposition, who are convinced of this fact. So that is really what the fight is between,” he said.
Speaking to the media during the yatra which started from Kanyakumari on Thursday, he said the idea of this march is to connect with the people, listen to them, understand what they are facing and also communicate to them a few things.
Gandhi said the aim is to communicate that India has changed and the “institutional framework of India has been captured”.
“There is an attempt to place one vision on top of this country which has multiple visions. One vision is being enforced,” he said, adding the yatra is a step to communicate that to the people.
“The yatra will of course help in bringing together the Opposition but that is a separate exercise,” the former Congress chief said when asked about what is being done for Opposition unity.
Responding to another question, Gandhi said it is the responsibility of the entire Opposition to come together.
“Every party has a role in it, it’s not that the Congress party is the only party, every party has a role in it, and that discussion is in progress,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi, along with several of his party colleagues, embarked on the 3,570-km ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from here on Thursday.
Amid sounds of drum beats, a sea of tricolour and slogans of “Bharat Jodo”, the march began from Vivekananda College Road, Agasteeswaram, here on Thursday.
