"Certified Anti-National": BJP After Top Court Raps Rahul Gandhi Over Army Remarks

As the Supreme Court slammed Rahul Gandhi over his remarks about the Indian Army, the BJP on Monday tore into the Congress leader and alleged that he has vowed to "weaken India and strengthen China".

Calling the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha a "certified anti-national", the BJP claimed that the "China guru" (Gandhi) and his party also "hate" the Indian armed forces and that he is being "remote controlled by foreign forces". The ruling party also demanded an apology from him and the Congress for his remarks.

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the proceedings against Gandhi before a Lucknow court over his remarks about the Army during his December 2022 Bharat Jodo Yatra. The top court, however, censured Gandhi, saying if he is a true Indian, he would not say such a thing.

Citing observations made by a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that for the first time in the parliamentary history of the country, the Supreme Court had to make such a "stern remark" against a leader of the opposition.

In a post in Hindi on X, Pradhan said, "Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have a history of insulting the army, whether it is the surgical strike or Operation Sindoor. They have questioned the sacrifices of our brave soldiers at every opportunity." Their loyalty is not to the nation but only to one family, which is why respect for the nation is not even part of their "fundamental thinking", he charged.

"Today, the entire country is hurt by this anti-national mentality and expects an apology from Rahul Gandhi and the Congress," the senior BJP leader said.

Latching on to the apex court's observations, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that Gandhi keeps making "immatured, irresponsible and anti-India comments" even though he has been rapped by various courts for such remarks in the past.

"Today when the Supreme Court's comment has come, it won't be wrong to say that Rahul Gandhi has certainly vowed to weaken India and strengthen China," Bhatia told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here.

In a post on X, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said, "The Supreme Court has once again reprimanded 'China Guru' Rahul Gandhi for making irresponsible statements concerning India's national security and territorial integrity." "Imagine, a leader of the opposition being repeatedly rebuked for speaking such recklessly," he said.

"Rahul Gandhi is now a certified anti-national," the BJP leader charged in another post on X.

Showing a purported picture of Rahul Gandhi signing some document in the presence of Sonia Gandhi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, BJP spokesperson Bhatia claimed that the Congress leader had signed a party-to-party memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Communist Party of China.

"That's why Rahul Gandhi was saying that our soldiers were thrashed by Chinese soldiers, be it (in) Doklam or Galwan, while every Indian was standing by India and brave soldiers of India," he charged.

They never tell the people of India what was there in the Congress' party-to-party MoU with the Communist Party of China, he said.

"It seems Rahul Gandhi has love for China and Pakistan in his veins, but no love for India," he added.

Bhatia termed the apex court's observations as "very serious" and said with this, Gandhi's credibility has gone down to "zero".

"Does India deserve a more responsible and a better Leader of Opposition (LoP)? As the LoP who has taken oath under the Constitution to protect the sovereignty of our country, is he destroying the sovereignty of our country? Is he helping nations that are inimical to our country? Is he demoralising the brave Indian armed forces?" he asked.

Rahul Gandhi's credibility is "at stake", Bhatia said.

Malviya also took on the Congress leader over his recent "dead" economy remark, calling it "a diplomatic disaster on multiple fronts".

"His recent 'dead economy' jibe is just the latest in a long series. In doing so, he implicitly admitted that Russia, a long-standing ally, is struggling, while bizarrely endorsing a hostile state like Pakistan as having a robust economy," he said.

Echoing US President Donald Trump's criticism of the Indian economy, Gandhi said on August 1 that everybody except Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman know that the country's economy is "dead".

Referring to Gandhi's remarks on the surgical strike and Operation Sindoor, another BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the Congress leader and his party "hate" Indian armed forces.

"Sena ka Apman Congress ki pehchan (Insulting the Army is the hallmark of the Congress)," Poonawalla said in a post on X.

"Rahul and Congress hate Indian Armed Forces," he charged, adding, "Today SC has slammed him." Another BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said on X that the Supreme Court's poser to Gandhi about his claim exposed him.

He said, "Supreme Court asks Rahul Gandhi - 'How did you know that China had occupied land?'" This question by the Supreme Court has not only "exposed" Gandhi, but further got the attention back on the "secret MoU that Gandhi-Vadra family had with China", he said.

"Rahul is working under the remote control of foreign forces," Bhandari charged. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)