Rahul Gandhi defaming India to hide his failures, says Anurag Thakur

The Bharatiya Janata Party continued to attack Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his visit to the United Kingdom, fielding union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur to launch an attack on him for his recent interview with a foreign journalist association. Thakur said that Gandhi was “maligning” India on foreign soil to hide the failures of his party.

“His party had done it earlier, when it took local issues to the United Nations, and now to ask other countries to intervene in India. They have not yet come out of the thought of slavery,” Thakur said.

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After an invitation from Cambridge University, Gandhi has held a public discussion with the International Journalists Association and held a meeting with diaspora Indians. During one of his speeches, Gandhi said that the democratic structures are now under ‘attack’ and said that he was concerned that democratic powers like the US and Europe are yet to step in.

Gandhi’s speech invited a reaction from Thakur. “Don’t betray India, Rahul Gandhi ji. The objections to India’s foreign policy are an evidence of your scant understanding of the issue. No one will believe the lies you spread about India from foreign soil,” Thakur said.

Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda, too, said Opposition leaders are “hurting” India’s respect. “When Indian citizens go abroad they feel proud to be Indian. But when opposition party leaders publicise and give statements to hurt India’s respect, this shows that India’s respect doesn’t matter to them,” Munda said.

Gandhi’s attack on the Modi government has led to BJP leaders criticising Gandhi for defaming India. In response, Gandhi sent out a rebuttal where he recounted how Modi had previously said that nothing has been done in India in seven decades of Independence.

“Last time I recall the PM going abroad and announcing that there has been nothing done in 70 years of independence. I remember him saying we had lost a decade of 10 years. He said all this abroad,” Gandhi said.