Goa BJP calls Rahul 'loafer' for winking in Parliament
Panaji, July 23 : A Goa BJP spokesperson on Monday called Congress President Rahul Gandhi a "loafer" for winking in Parliament, a day after the state Congress chief called Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar a "kathputli" (puppet) for bowing to unreasonable demands of ruling coalition allies in the coastal state.
"Rahul Gandhi, who does not have substance or the understanding of issues related to the people of India, had to resort to hugging the Prime Minister in the temple of democracy and then winking like a loafer," said state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Dattaprasad Naik in a press statement.
"We have only heard of loafers winking at girls in colleges in the past and never such a shameful act has ever happened in the temple of democracy," Naik said, adding that the Congress party had become a "kathputli" in the hands of Gandhi family.
Naik said state Congress president Girish Chodankar had forgotten that even former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a puppet in the hands of then Congress president Sonia Gandhi and that all Goa Congress presidents in the past were "kathputlis" in the hands of the Congress high command.
On Sunday, the state's top Congress leader, Chodankar in a press conference had said: "The Chief Minister has been reduced to string puppet by alliance partners like Goa Forward, whose leader Vijai Sardesai has tried to save those behind the fish mafia, after formalin was found in fish imported into Goa from other states by rogue fish traders. Hundreds of thousands of Goans love their fish thali. The government has put the fish thali in peril".
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Surjewala slams Pratap Simha’s ‘vile’ remarks on CM Siddaramaiah, demands apology from BJP
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the BJP over alleged disparaging remarks made by former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during an assembly bypoll campaign in Bagalkote.
Simha made the remarks while campaigning for BJP candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath, triggering a political row ahead of the by-elections scheduled for April 9.
Congress has fielded Umesh Meti, son of former MLA late M Y Meti, whose death necessitated the bye-election.
"Pratap Simha's vile remarks about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bagalkot have exposed the BJP's despicable politics once again," Surjewala said in a social media post.
Alleging a larger political design, he added, "It is increasingly evident that Pratap Simha’s outburst is driven by desperation," and accused the BJP of using such remarks to target backward classes, Scheduled Castes, and minorities.
The Rajya Sabha member further claimed that the incident reflects a pattern within the party. "This is not one man's madness—it is the BJP’s political culture," he said, adding that the remarks were aimed at "denigrating leaders from marginalised communities".
Referring to past incidents, Surjewala said, "CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar have received death threats in the past, including one from BJP leaders who warned that their bodies would be stuffed into a refrigerator."
The Congress leader also criticised the BJP’s bypoll campaign strategy, alleging "internal contradictions".
He pointed to the party’s use of expelled MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal in campaigning despite earlier disciplinary action against him, accusing the BJP of resorting to "abuses and indignities" against opposition leaders.
Surjewala demanded immediate action from the BJP leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, state president B Y Vijayendra, and Leader of Opposition R Ashoka.
He said they must tender a public apology to Kannadigas, particularly to OBCs, SCs, and minorities, over the remarks, and urged the party to expel Simha if it does not repudiate his statements.
Surjewala also called for legal action, demanding that an FIR be registered against Simha and that strict measures be taken.
Warning of "political consequences", he said the electorate in the bypoll-bound constituencies would respond decisively if the BJP failed to apologise, asserting that voters would "teach the BJP a befitting lesson" in the elections.
There has been no immediate reaction from the saffron party yet.
