Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the BJP government during his recent lecture at Cambridge University. The video of the lecture was shared on Twitter. Gandhi alleged that the Indian democracy was under attack and the Israeli spyware Pegasus was used to snoop on him and several other leaders.
The BJP sharply countered Gandhi’s remarks and said Congress was unable to accept election defeats and was maligning India’s image on foreign soil.
Indian democracy is a public good. At least 50% of the people who live in a democratic space live in India. Therefore, preserving the Indian democracy means defending the democratic structure on the planet.:Sh. @RahulGandhi at Cambridge
Full video here: https://t.co/kcK9KQyDkC pic.twitter.com/D3EO9NuZIq— Congress (@INCIndia) March 3, 2023
Speaking on ‘Learning to Listen in the 21st Century at Cambridge University,’ on Tuesday, Gandhi who is a visiting fellow of the Cambridge Judge Business School, said, “Indian democracy is under pressure and under attack. The institutional framework which is required for a democracy... Parliament, the free press, the judiciary, and just the idea of mobilisation are all getting constrained. We are facing an attack on the basic structure of democracy.”
ALSO READ |
He also alleged that the parliament, judiciary, media, and the idea of mobilisation are all getting constrained.
Gandhi mentioned that the Constitution described India as a Union of States and the Union required negotiation and conversation which he alleged was under attack by the ruling government. He also said that he had Pegasus on his phone and he along with leaders was under the constant pressure of surveillance.
“A large number of political leaders have Pegasus on their phones. I myself had Pegasus on my phone. I've been called by intelligence officers who said ‘please be careful of what you say on the phone as we are recording the stuff.’ So, this is the constant pressure that we feel,” Gandhi said.
He also shared a picture of himself being held by the police and claimed that the Opposition leaders were “locked up for just standing” in front of the Parliament House to talk.
Here’s how the BJP reacted
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur accused him of maligning India on foreign soil after facing successive electoral setbacks.
"Pegasus is not in Rahul Gandhi's phone but in his mind," he said in a video shared on Twitter.
पेगासस फ़ोन में नहीं राहुल गांधी के दिमाग़ में है।
बार-बार झूठ बोलकर विदेशी मंचों का इस्तेमाल कर भारत को बदनाम करना राहुल गांधी की आदत बन चुकी है।आख़िर राहुल जी की ऐसी क्या मजबूरी थी, उनके फ़ोन में ऐसा क्या था कि पेगसास इश्यू पर उन्होंने अपना फ़ोन जमा नहीं करवाया? pic.twitter.com/hObTf9xoWw— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) March 3, 2023
He also questioned why Gandhi and other Congress leaders did not submit their phones before the Supreme Court-appointed committee which probed the Pegasus case.
BJP national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill, a former Congress leader, also countered Gandhi’s remarks and said it was just a case of a bad workman blaming his tools.
ALSO READ | Bengal Congress spokesperson Kaustav Bagchi arrested for comments against Mamata Banerjee
“Instead of introspecting on the loss of 172 seats out of 180 in N East polls, loss of 50+ elections out of 54 under his command, Rahul Gandhi is busy crying wolf on foreign shores! RG Cambridge's speech is Classic Case of ‘Naach Na Jaane, Aangan Tedaa’ or ‘Bad Workman blames his tools’,” Shergill wrote on Twitter.
Instead of introspecting on loss of 172 seats out of 180 in N.East polls,loss of 50+ elections out of 54 under his command,Rahul Gandhi is busy crying wolf on foreign shores!
RG Cambridge speech is Classic Case of “Naach Na Jaane,Aangan Tedaa” or “Bad Workman blames his tools”— Jaiveer Shergill (@JaiveerShergill) March 3, 2023
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also struck back at Gandhi and said his speech was a brazen attempt to malign the country’s image.
Sarma put out a series of tweets, with statements made by Rahul Gandhi and claimed they were not based on facts.
First foreign agents target us!Then our own targets us on a foreign land!
Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Cambridge was nothing but a brazen attempt to denigrate our country on foreign soil in the guise of targeting Adarniya PM Shri @narendramodi ji.Thread— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) March 3, 2023
Another BJP spokesperson said that Gandhi was “hallucinating”.
“What we can say for Rahul Gandhi’s hallucinations. If he makes his (Congress) MoU with China public, we will be interested and people of India will also like to know. Who is interested in his telephonic conversations,” BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan told reporters, as per NDTV.
Meanwhile, the Congress cited instances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi going abroad and allegedly raising internal politics to hit back at the BJP’s criticism.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the kind of statements that were made by PM Modi in places like Shanghai, Toronto, California, Seoul and Abu Dhabi on internal politics and against the Opposition party were appalling.
श्री अनुराग ‘गोली मारो’ ठाकुर,
बिन माँगी सलाह है - राहुल गांधी जी के कैम्ब्रिज का पूरा लेक्चर सुनिएथोड़े आपके ज्ञान चक्षु खुलेंगे - कुछ बच्चों को सिखाने लायक़ बनियेगाकब तक मंच से नफ़रती भाषण के भरोसे घिनौनी राजनीति करते रहिएगा? @ianuragthakur pic.twitter.com/8E56cgaA9c— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) March 3, 2023
She also urged the critics to listen to Gandhi’s full lecture to understand what was said.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
Supreme Court refuses to direct disclosure of polling data under Form 17C
May 24, 2024 12:08 PM
The Election Commission’s voter turnout data: The concerns and a court case
May 24, 2024 11:53 AM