Rahul becoming ‘leader of propaganda’, says BJP

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the Congress MP had made it a pattern to criticise India and its democratic institutions while travelling abroad, thereby harming the nation’s global image.

Saying the Congress party no longer deserved the prefix “Indian”, Poonawalla said, “The INC has turned into anti-national Congress, and the Leader of Opposition has become a Leader of Propaganda.”

The BJP’s remarks followed Gandhi’s interaction at the Hertie School in Berlin on Monday, where he reiterated his allegation of “vote theft” and claimed that India’s institutional framework was under attack. He had alleged that there were serious shortcomings in the country’s electoral processes.

Poonawalla also alluded to what he described as growing discord within the Gandhi family over prime ministerial ambitions, suggesting that Rahul Gandhi was not receiving wholehearted backing from within the Congress or its allies.

His comments also came amid fresh speculation triggered by Congress MP Imran Masood, who publicly pitched Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as a potential prime ministerial candidate.

Meanwhile, Priyanka’s husband Robert Vadra has also indicated that he had been urged to enter active politics. “Everyone has their own aspirations and supporters. There are demands that Priyanka should step forward, and there are also voices asking me to join politics. But at present, the priority should be issues affecting the common people,” Vadra told reporters.

Countering Rahul’s remarks that social divisions would intensify and India would fail under the current leadership, Poonawalla accused the Congress and its INDIA bloc partners of deliberately stoking divisions along religious, linguistic and demographic lines.

Citing past controversial remarks by leaders from the Opposition, Poonawalla alleged that statements targeting Sanatan Dharma and comments comparing regional “DNA” reflected a “divide-and-rule” mindset, which he said was being pursued by the Congress and its allies.