JOIN USRahul insulted Mahatma Gandhi by 'discarding' cotton thread garland: BJP; Cong says non-issue
The BJP on Tuesday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of disrespecting Mahatma Gandhi by refusing to wear a garland made of cotton threads offered to him by Gujarat Congress leaders at the Vadodara airport and "discarding" it.
After he landed at the airport, Rahul Gandhi was offered a garland of 'sutar ni aati' (cotton threads) made by spinning charkha by local Congress leaders. However, he refused to wear the garland and took it in his hand from a local leader. A video showed Rahul Gandhi purportedly putting this garland on the railing of the staircase at the airport. BJP leaders tweeted clips of Rahul Gandhi and demanded that Congress apologise for his actions.
“Mahatma Gandhi had started a social revolution by using charkha (spinning wheel) and 'sutar ni aati' was his favourite. By ignoring it, the Congress leader has shown that he has no respect for Gandhiji,” BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas alleged. Vadodara's former mayor and Gujarat BJP co-spokesperson Bharat Dangar tweeted a video clip of Rahul Gandhi purportedly putting the garland of thread on the railing of the staircase of the airport.
“Rahul Gandhi, the heir of those who adopted the Gandhi surname for obtaining power, did not wear the cotton thread but threw it on the staircase. This is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi. Congress should apologise,” Dangar twitted.
On the other hand, Congress dismissed the incident as a "non-issue". “Rahul Gandhi or any other Congressmen has a deep respect for Mahatma Gandhi. We are followers of Gandhiji and not of (Nathuram) Godse like the BJP. This is a non-issue which the BJP is trying to rake up,” Congress spokesperson Hemang Rawal said. Speaking on the incident, Rawal said Rahul Gandhi accepted the 'sutar ni ati'.
"But what was its use after accepting it. He has shown no disregard,” the Congress spokesperson said. Rahul Gandhi addressed a tribal rally at Dahod earlier in the day. Traditionally, the Congress party and Gandhians (followers of Mahatma Gandhi) in Gujarat welcome people by offering them a garland of cotton threads instead of the one made up of flowers. The BJP, however, uses only floral garlands and bouquets.