Why did Congress not seek relief for Khera as they did for Rahul, asks BJP

New Delhi: In an indication that the BJP will not miss out on using for its gain the Surat court’s order leading to the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, the ruling party will be launching a nation-wide campaign to highlight how the Opposition party and its leader were "personally are guilty of hurling abuse at the entire OBC community in the country."

Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi held a meeting of the BJP’s OBC members in Parliament to chalk out the party’s strategy for the nation-wide campaign. The OBCs are a politically influential community and numerically strong in almost all states, including in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka, where Assembly elections are due this year.

The ruling party dismissed the charges of "vendetta politics" levelled against it by the Congress and the Opposition leaders. The BJP not only called Mr Gandhi's disqualification "lawful", but also suggested that a conspiracy within the Congress may have played a role in its leaders' failure to seek relief for Gandhi after his conviction, as it had done in the case of Pawan Khera within hours of the Assam police arresting him.

Claiming that Gandhi has a habit of levelling fabricated allegations that have no connection to facts, BJP president J.P. Nadda said the Congress leader has "huge arrogance but little understanding". In a series of tweets, Nadda alleged that "lies, personal slander and negative politics are integral" to his politics. He asserted that people's "punishment" for him will be more severe in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls than in 2019, when he lost in Amethi and the Congress was routed nationally.

"By comparing the OBC communities to thieves, Mr Gandhi has shown a pathetic and casteist mindset. However, his latest tirade is not surprising. For the last many years, he has always reduced levels of political discourse," the BJP president wrote.

He further added: "He (Gandhi) repeatedly hurt the sentiments of the OBCs. The Surat court has convicted him for his objectionable comments against the community. But Gandhi and the Congress stuck to those remarks due to their arrogance."

Earlier during the day, Union minister and a prominent OBC face Bhupender Yadav hit out at the Congress for raising questions on the Gujarat court order convicting Gandhi. He asked if they considered themselves above the law of the land. The minister noted that the court convicted Gandhi following due process of law, but the Congress leader and his party are "not able to accept the verdict due to their "arrogance".

"Are the Congress party and Gandhi above the law of the country? Is it a national leader's job to abuse and insult a surname of the OBC community? I believe the Congress party and Gandhi personally are guilty of hurling abuses at the entire OBC community in the country... Everybody should respect the court verdict," said Yadav.

Another Union minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, said: "Obsession to prove Mr Gandhi as a serious politician is doing more harm to the Congress than good. Chest thumping and grandstanding after the scions conviction for puerile remarks against the OBC community shows that there is no party as shallow and as shameless as the Congress."

Calling Mr Gandhi a "habitual loose cannon," information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur recalled how the Congress leader had furnished an unconditional apology in the Supreme Court in the Rafale contempt case and said he, however, failed to learn any lesson even after that.