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BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of siding with "anti-India forces" and attempting to defame the country.
In a press conference, Bhatia said that an opposition party was "hell-bent on defaming India" and alleged that Rahul Gandhi was relying on a report from an agency with "no credibility" to question the state of democracy in the country. Referring to the mention of sanctions against the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) in the report, Bhatia said such recommendations were unacceptable and baseless. Defending R&AW, the BJP leader said that since its inception, the agency has served the nation with dedication and commitment. "An opposition party is hell-bent on defaming India, Rahul Gandhi is hell-bent on siding with anti-India forces...The report recommends that India's agency R&AW should be sanctioned. An agency with no credibility should not be passing judgments on India. Yet Rahul Gandhi chooses to rely on it to claim that there is no democracy in India. Since its inception, R&AW has served the nation with dedication, and many of its officers have even laid down their lives in the line of duty," he said. Earlier in the day, BJP spokesperson Bhatia lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the Congress' alleged support for the recent annual report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which has backed sanctions on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW). Addressing a press conference, the BJP spokesperson called the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi's "Mohabbat ki dukaan only has anti-national things. "Once again, LoP Rahul Gandhi has shown that what he calls Mohabbat ki Dukaan, only has anti-national things. Even the public is asking him some serious questions. He is a grown up man. So does he intentionally oppose India and has an anti-Indian mentality." he said. Referring to the Congress's recent post on X, citing the USCIRF report, demanding a ban on RSS, the BJP spokesperson highlighted that the report also recommends sanctions on R&AW, which he alleged that the Congress leader supported. He questioned Rahul Gandhi for his alleged endorsement of the report, calling it "seriously concerning." Meanwhile, on Monday, the Government of India rubbished the USCIRF report, which recommended the US government designate it as a "country of particular concern," or CPC, and to put sanctions on certain individuals and entities. A statement by the Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said that the report was motivated and biased in its characterisation of India. "We have taken note of the latest report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). We categorically reject its motivated and biased characterisation of India. For several years now, USCIRF has persisted in presenting a distorted and selective picture of India, relying on questionable sources and ideological narratives rather than objective facts. Such repeated misrepresentations only undermine the credibility of the Commission itself," the statement read. (ANI)
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