BJP questions Rahul's silence over Ramya's 'pot' jibe against PM Narendra Modi
ET Online and Agencies|
Updated: Feb 05, 2018, 02.01 PM IST
It's another low for the Congress after the "neech" jibe during the Gujarat state elections. Congress social media head Divya Spandana Ramya took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi wondering if he was on "POT", a snub which invited a scathing response from the BJP.
Her sarcastic remark came shortly after Sunday's BJP rally in Bengalauru where PM Modi remarked that farmers of Karnataka were a "TOP" priority for his government - "TOP", he explained, being an acronym for the staples tomato, potato and onions targeted in the new Operation Greens initiative.
Ramya, who is from Karnataka, played around with the word "TOP" when she tweeted her response: "Is this what happens when you're on POT?"
The BJP hit back questioning why Congress president Rahul Gandhi was silent over Ramya's jibe while senior party leader Mani Shankar Aiyar earlier had to pay for his "neech"(lowly) remark. Congress had suspended Aiyar from primary membership of the party for calling th prime minister a "neech admi" during the Gujarat poll campaign late last year.
"Will Rahul Gandhi maintain silence on Divya Spandana's comment while he sacked Mani Shankar Aiyar just because his jibe came close to Gujarat election and Karnataka is still some months away? Or sacrificing his close aide, responsible for his rise as a leader, takes some courage?" BJP's IT wing head Amit Malviya shot back.
Party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said the comment "insult the people of India". He tweeted, "Most people of the country and our party members won't even know what you are referring to (including PM himself) but your Leader will connect with it instantly. While you have insulted people of India with your atrocious comment, your leader will be proud of you!!"
One Twitterer said, "Congress' POTshot at NaMo Using the word POT, for his TOP remark, is now on the TOP list of BJP! What kind of political discourse is this?"
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was also part of the frenzy and said, "I think I'll have POT for lunch today".-
Her sarcastic remark came shortly after Sunday's BJP rally in Bengalauru where PM Modi remarked that farmers of Karnataka were a "TOP" priority for his government - "TOP", he explained, being an acronym for the staples tomato, potato and onions targeted in the new Operation Greens initiative.
Ramya, who is from Karnataka, played around with the word "TOP" when she tweeted her response: "Is this what happens when you're on POT?"
The BJP hit back questioning why Congress president Rahul Gandhi was silent over Ramya's jibe while senior party leader Mani Shankar Aiyar earlier had to pay for his "neech"(lowly) remark. Congress had suspended Aiyar from primary membership of the party for calling th prime minister a "neech admi" during the Gujarat poll campaign late last year.
"Will Rahul Gandhi maintain silence on Divya Spandana's comment while he sacked Mani Shankar Aiyar just because his jibe came close to Gujarat election and Karnataka is still some months away? Or sacrificing his close aide, responsible for his rise as a leader, takes some courage?" BJP's IT wing head Amit Malviya shot back.
Party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said the comment "insult the people of India". He tweeted, "Most people of the country and our party members won't even know what you are referring to (including PM himself) but your Leader will connect with it instantly. While you have insulted people of India with your atrocious comment, your leader will be proud of you!!"
One Twitterer said, "Congress' POTshot at NaMo Using the word POT, for his TOP remark, is now on the TOP list of BJP! What kind of political discourse is this?"
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was also part of the frenzy and said, "I think I'll have POT for lunch today".-
