The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his recent comments referring to India’s loss to Australia in the Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad on Sunday with PM Modi in the stands.
VIDEO | When PM Modi met Team India cricketers in their dressing room after the Indian side lost the #ICCWorldCup2023 final against Australia on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/4BV9hfs40G
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 21, 2023
Addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Balotra on Tuesday, ahead of the November 25 assembly polls, Gandhi said “PM means Panauti Modi”, insinuating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi brings bad luck.
“Panauti… panauti… Achha bhalaa hamare ladke wahaan World Cup jeetne waale the, par panauti harwaa diya. TV waale ye nahin kahenge magar janta jaanti hai (Our boys were going to win the World Cup, but panauti got them defeated. TV channels will not say this but the public knows),” said Rahul Gandhi.
Also Read: Telangana Elections: Revanth Seeks Apology From KCR For His Scathing Remarks On ‘Indiramma Rajyam.’
BJP demands Apology:
Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers Nirmala Sitaraman, Rajeev Chandrashekar and former minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, condemned Gandhi’s statement as “shameful, condemnable, and disgraceful.”
Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said his comments are a sign of desperation and mental instability. “There is more than irony or hypocrisy at work here, that a 55 years old who has never worked a day in his life, whose family has exploited the country like parasites for decades with their corruption and whose govt destroyed the country economically in the lost decade,” he said. The reason is that Modi is a nightmare “for the crooks of the Congress, for enemies of India and terrorists”, he said.
“For all others, he is the world’s most popular political leader, whose experience, hard work, vision have transformed the lives of people, grown our economy and earned respect all over India and the world, from Silicon Valley to our villages, from tech to farmers,” he said on X.
पनौती 😉 pic.twitter.com/kVTgt0ZCTs
— Congress (@INCIndia) November 21, 2023
Demanding an apology from Gandhi for his comments, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “What happened to you, Rahul Gandhi? You are using such words for the Prime Minister of the country. Our Prime Minister met the players and motivated them. Winning or losing is part of the game.”
Prasad urged Rahul Gandhi to reflect on past instances, citing an example involving Sonia Gandhi, and added, “You need to learn from the past. Your mother (Sonia Gandhi) used the word ‘Maut ka saudagar’ (dealer of deaths) for Narendra Modi and see where the Congres is now.”
The BJP leader also threatened to make this a bigger issue if the Congress leader didn’t apologise for his remarks.
