Just because you are not bright does not mean India not a 'bright spot': BJP to Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP sharpened its attack on Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, accusing the Congress leader of speaking against India in a foreign country and making such allegations about the conditions in the country which even Pakistan does not dare to do.
While the whole world is using good words to describe India, its main opposition leader is claiming on foreign soil that the country has been destroyed and democracy is no longer there while the judiciary and the media are in a bad shape, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters.
He accused Gandhi of dissuading investors from investing in India at a time when the world is seeing the country as a "bright spot" and foreign firms are leaving China to do business here.
"In a big university, he is telling people bad things about India. While even Pakistan no longer dares say these things about India on a global forum, Gandhi is presenting it as a place where democracy is no longer there and the judiciary has been compromised," he said.
Patra questioned if Gandhi was working as an agent on the payroll of an agency to bring down India.
At a lecture at Cambridge University, Gandhi had alleged that Indian democracy is under attack and several politicians, including himself, are under surveillance.
The former Congress president listed five key aspects of the alleged attack on Indian democracy -- capture and control of media and judiciary; surveillance and intimidation; coercion by federal law enforcement agencies; attacks on minorities, Dalits and tribals; and shutting down of dissent.
Patra said the Congress leader spoke about minorities being treated as second-class citizens and alleged "Rahul Gandhi and the Gandhi family can stoop to any low to destroy the fabric of India."
"Just because you are not a bright kid and not a bright kid of your dynastic party doesn't mean India is not a bright spot," he said, hitting back at the Congress leader.
Patra said Gandhi or other Congress leaders did not even submit their mobile phones for inspection by a probe committee set by the Supreme Court to look into the charge of snooping through the Pegasus malware.
He said an RTI reply had revealed that thousands of phones were tapped and hundreds of emails read by government agencies when the UPA was in power and recalled that former president Pranab Mukherjee, then a Cabinet minister, had suspected that his office was bugged at the behest of another minister.
The BJP leader said Gandhi spoke about thrust on harmony and nationalism in China, and accused him of seeing India as an "agreement" and not a nation.
He spoke of the role of the Yellow River in building Chinese nationalism but could not see the Ganga in India, Patra said.
Patra slammed Gandhi for his remarks at a time when India was hosting the G20, with world leaders recognising the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is being said that if someone can defuse the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it is Modi, he said.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
