'Ranted for 90 minutes without using favourite abuse': Congress' dig at Amit Shah

Shah alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen multiple times in public with sympathisers of Naxals.

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe at Home Minister Amit Shah, saying he accomplished a miracle in the Lok Sabha when he "raved and ranted for 90 minutes" without once using his favourite word of abuse.

The opposition party's dig came a day after Shah declared that the country has become free from Naxals with the apex body of the Maoists and the central structure almost completely dismantled, and accused the Congress of doing "nothing" to end the long spell of violence perpetrated by the ultras.

Replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on 'Efforts to free the country from left-wing extremism (LWE)', Shah also alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen multiple times in public with sympathisers of Naxals and even posted videos "sympathetic" to the Maoists from his social media handle.

Taking a swipe at Shah, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Yesterday, the Home Minister accomplished a miracle in the Lok Sabha. He raved and ranted for 90 minutes without once using his favourite word of abuse - which has had to be expunged on previous occasions."

Ramesh also tagged his post on X earlier this month when he had taken a swipe at Shah, and said that one of his favourite words uttered again in the Lok Sabha has been expunged.

That swipe on Shah had come after an opposition move to remove Om Birla as the Lok Sabha speaker was defeated in the Lower House after a heated debate.

Responding to the debate, Shah had then trashed Rahul Gandhi's contention that he was not allowed to speak in the House, saying the Congress leader was frequently abroad during sessions and skipped discussions willfully as he does not want to speak.

The opposition members had rushed to the Well of the House, protesting and raising slogans as the home minister was concluding his speech at the end of the two-day-long debate on the resolution.

They had demanded an apology for Shah's certain remarks, which they claimed were "offensive".

In his remarks in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Shah targeted the Congress and claimed that former prime minister Indira Gandhi had accepted the support of the Naxals in an election in the 1970s in then undivided Andhra Pradesh and remained "influenced" by the Maoist ideology.

"Experts say without the support of those in power, the Red Corridor could not have been created," he said, referring to the region affected by Naxalism across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The debate was held a day before the deadline declared by Shah for the elimination of Naxal violence.

Last year, Shah had announced that the LWE would end in the country by March 31, 2026, and a major operation had been organised against the Naxals.

"The biggest achievement of the Modi government is a Naxal-free India; any researcher will accept this," he said.