BJP tweets Rahul's video at Nepal club, Cong says he is in Himalayan nation for friend's wedding
New Delhi(PTI): A video of Rahul Gandhi went viral on social media triggering a row, with the BJP saying he was at a "nightclub" when his party is "exploding", evoking a sharp response from the Congress which said he was in Nepal to attend the marriage of a journalist friend, and that is "not a crime".
The BJP's social media department head Amit Malviya and Union minister Giriraj Singh also tweeted the video.
"Rahul Gandhi was at a nightclub when Mumbai (in 2008) was under seize(sic). He is at a nightclub at a time when his party is exploding. He is consistent. Interestingly, soon after the Congress refused to outsource their presidency, hit jobs have begun on their Prime Ministerial candidate...," Malviya said in the tweet.
"Colourful programme," BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh in a tweet in Hindi while sharing the video.
Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hit back, saying Gandhi was in Nepal for a private wedding and has not gone there uninvited. He also said it was not a crime to attend the wedding of a friend or a family member.
"Rahul Gandhi has not gone as an uninvited guest like Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone to Pakistan to celebrate the birthday and cut cakes for the then Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. Rahul Gandhi has gone to a friendly country Nepal to participate in a private marriage function of a friend. By chance, the friend also happens to be a journalist," he said.
Surjewala also hit out at the RSS, saying it is not a crime to attend weddings of family and friends as it "is part of our culture, unlike the RSS'".
"Last I checked, having a family in this country and having friends, attending marriage and engagement ceremonies is a matter of our culture and civilisation. It has still not become a crime in this country to be married, to be friends with someone or to attend their marriage celebration. Maybe after today, Prime Minister Modi or the BJP may decide that it is illegal to attend a marriage. They may say it is a crime to have friends or participate in family functions," he said. "But, do let me know so that we all change our status and habits and civilisational practices of attending marriages of friends, as also family members," Surjewala also said.
Gandhi arrived in Nepal on Monday on a five-day private visit.
According to The Kathmandu Post newspaper, the Congress leader is in the country's capital to attend the wedding of his Nepali friend Sumnima Udas.
"We had extended an invitation to Gandhi to attend the wedding of my daughter, said Bhim Udas, Sumnima's father who also served as Nepal's Ambassador to Myanmar.
Sumnima, a former CNN correspondent, is getting married to Nima Martin Sherpa, the report had said.
The marriage function is planned for Tuesday and a reception will be held on May 5 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bauddha, Bhim said.
Rahul Gandhi was at a nightclub when Mumbai was under seize. He is at a nightclub at a time when his party is exploding. He is consistent.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 3, 2022
Interestingly, soon after the Congress refused to outsource their presidency, hit jobs have begun on their Prime Ministerial candidate... pic.twitter.com/dW9t07YkzC
Rahul Gandhi was at a nightclub when Mumbai was under seize. He is at a nightclub at a time when his party is exploding. He is consistent.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 3, 2022
Interestingly, soon after the Congress refused to outsource their presidency, hit jobs have begun on their Prime Ministerial candidate... pic.twitter.com/dW9t07YkzC
What is wrong in it when he attends a marriage reception? Why Sanghi’s are afraid about him ? Why Sanghi’s are spreading lies ? Everyone of us attend private functions.
— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳✋மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) May 3, 2022
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
