Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched a sharp, uncompromising attack on Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of using the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad to defame India before an international audience. Shah said such tactics would never help Gandhi return to power and urged him to abandon foreign platforms and visit villages if he genuinely aspired to lead the country.
Addressing the controversy surrounding the two-day Bharat Summit held on November 13-14 and hosted by the Congress-ruled Telangana Government, Shah said promoters of left-wing ideology from India and abroad had been invited to the event. “The Congress’ prince also attended this conference named ‘Bharat Summit’, where he defamed India at the international level by putting forth anti-Indian thoughts,” Shah said. “He should understand that defaming India at international platforms will not help him come to power.”
Shah’s remarks came a day after Gandhi, speaking at the summit’s valedictory session alongside foreign delegates, claimed that “India is actually no longer a democracy” and accused the BJP-led Government of systematically weakening democratic institutions since 2014.
The Opposition leader’s comments, delivered before an international gathering, triggered an immediate political backlash from the ruling party.
Shah was very direct, saying that if Rahul Gandhi wants to return to power, he should go to India’s villages rather than abroad. He described Gandhi’s travel pattern as predictable: short visits home, then trips overseas. He pointed out that Gandhi’s approach would not bring the party back into power and urged the Congress workers to question their leadership. He added that the party could remain out of power for another 30 years if it didn’t change.
The criticism continued with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who took issue with Gandhi’s response to comments made by Giacomo Filibeck, Secretary General of the Party of European Socialists, on the Congress ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ slogan. A video of Gandhi laughing and clapping at the exchange went viral. Rijiju took issue with Gandhi’s reaction to the foreign leader’s comments on social media.
A video showed Gandhi laughing and clapping. Rijiju posted on social media: ‘Have you ever seen anyone laughing when India is being insulted by a foreigner? I’m not asking which Indian goes abroad to insult India.’
Other BJP leaders took up the issue. Senior leader CR Kesavan went so far as to call it the ‘Bharat Badnaam Summit’ with the implication that Gandhi and his colleagues had been using the forum to attack India and its democracy in the presence of a carefully selected group of foreign delegates. The party’s spokespersons questioned the credentials of some invitees and accused the Congress of giving foreign observers a platform to comment on India’s internal affairs, including elections.
Organisers clearly envisaged the Bharat Summit as a gathering of progressive voices, but the BJP immediately reframed it as an exercise in externalising domestic political angst. Shah’s intervention from the highest levels of the government only reinforced the BJP’s line that the Congress leadership is more concerned with international validation than with the people at home.
The exchange dominated the political agenda on Sunday and once again underlined the sharp divide between the Government and the main opposition party. Shah’s very straightforward assertion that power in India is won in the villages rather than on the international stage has set the tone for what is clearly going to be an increasingly acrimonious period ahead.