New Delhi, Oct 11 (IANS) The BJP on Sunday accused Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, of lying about the Centre attacking Tamil language and culture, questioning his intention behind attempts to spark north-south and language divisions and spread anarchy by attacking the electoral system.
Addressing the media in New Delhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi shared information on several initiatives of the central government for honouring Tamil culture, including the launch of Kashi Tamil Sangamam and promoting unity.
“Rahul Gandhi promotes divisibility, but our government focuses on promoting unity,” said Trivedi, reminding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently gifted Russian President Putin a Russian edition of the ancient Tamil classic Thirukural by Saint Thiruvalluvar and also decided to set up a defence corridor in the state to promote industry.
On the day of PM Modi’s visit to Tamil Nadu, Trivedi said Gandhi is spreading lies that the Centre is attacking Tamil Nadu’s language, culture and history.
In earlier rallies and at a Chhatron ki Goonj event in Chennai on the eve of PM Modi’s visit, the Congress leader had alleged that the Centre was treating Tamil identity as secondary to its traditions.
Trivedi also slammed the Leader of Opposition for batting for foreign forces inimical to India’s economic interests and joining hands with external forces to influence the integrity of elections in India.
He said that US President Donald Trump had said in 2024 that USAID was spending crores of rupees to increase voter turnout in India, and in 2025, when the Election Commission started purification of suspected voters, some people in India have started opposing the process.
Trivedi also sought answers from Gandhi for comparing the recent security curbs against an illegal protest against the SIR of electoral rolls in Delhi to the Emergency, claiming that by doing so he had insulted those who faced atrocities during the draconian, dark phase in the nation’s democracy.
He accused Gandhi of harbouring the dangerous ambition of turning “democracy into mobocracy” and said the LOP is disrespecting those who fought for their rights and suffered incarceration during the Emergency.
“How can curbs over a one km area be compared with the Emergency? During the Emergency, fundamental rights were suspended, and Opposition leaders were put in jail without any hearing,” he said.
The youth need to be reminded that during the Emergency, Parliament’s five-year term was extended by one year to bypass elections, and the Defence of India Rules were imposed that empowered imprisonment of people without any bail or hearing for uttering anything against the then government, he said.
“Today, the people are commenting and using foul language against the government and the Prime Minister and still not facing any Emergency-type consequences,” he said.
Targeting Gandhi for lying about electoral wrongdoings and spreading anarchy with his protests against the Chief Election Commissioner, Trivedi said, “Rahul Gandhi first said the EVMs are managed. Now, he says the electoral rolls are manipulated. I want to ask him if EVMS were indeed managed, then where is there a need to manipulate the voters’ list. Both of his claims can’t be true at the same time.”
–IANS
rch/uk