Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s repeated attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during his visit to Germany and the U.K. has once again triggered a debate on whether political leaders should raise domestic issues abroad.
While the BJP was quick to attack Mr. Gandhi and ask for his apology for insulting India on foreign soil, the Congress responded by stating that the Modi government does not equal India.
BJP for apology
“What Rahul Gandhi has done in London is unforgivable. You compared RSS’ thinking to that of Muslim Brotherhood. You are a parliamentarian, head of a party, the world is listening to you as the leader of the Opposition,” said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, who also asked Mr. Gandhi to apologise for “insulting 125 crore Indians and maligning Indian government”.
Speaking to The Hindu from London, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, who heads the Congress’s foreign affairs department, said Mr. Gandhi did not say anything “objectionable” at his official meetings with Labour Party leaders and the British Shadow Cabinet. “We discussed rising protectionism, unemployment, poverty, inequality and intolerance. Also the forces of violence and terror in the global context. Are these not global issues? What are they [BJP] so touchy about,” Mr. Sharma asked.
Asked about Mr. Gandhi’s controversial comparison of the RSS with the Muslim Brotherhood at another interaction, Mr. Sharma said, “In a democracy, you have multiple views. This is an intellectual discourse and an ideological debate. Has he said anything against the state or the nation? If someone has to apologise, then it should be Mr. Modi [Prime Minister Narendra Modi] for disparaging all his predecessors and he did so as PM.”
Congress’ complaint
Ironically, it was the Congress that had first complained about Prime Minister Modi insulting India’s achievements abroad after his diaspora events like the speech in Madison Square Garden during his maiden visit to the U.S. or a ‘controversial’ speech in Seoul in May 2015.
In Seoul, Mr. Modi had said, “There was a time when people used to feel that what sin they committed in their past life which resulted in taking birth in India; is this what you call a country and a government, is this how the people are, let’s leave it and go somewhere else, and people did leave. Now I can say it with firm belief that intelligent people from all walks of life...are eager and happy to come back and settle in India for even lesser incomes.”
Former Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, who severed his ties with the BJP, however cautioned the Congress chief by stating that “leaders should refrain from discussing our internal issues abroad.” “Attacking the RSS, the Govt, the BJP or even the PM is not tantamount to attacking India because if it is then the BJP spent 10 years attacking India when they criticised the Congress & Dr Manmohan Singh between 2004 and 2014,” tweeted former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.