This Article is From Aug 16, 2018

Speech Interrupted, Rahul Gandhi Says "Amit Shah Switched Off The Mic"

The bittersweet relationship between the chiefs of their parties isn't new

Speech Interrupted, Rahul Gandhi Says 'Amit Shah Switched Off The Mic'

Rahul Gandhi was speaking at "Sanjhi Virasat Bachao Sammelan" in Delhi.

New Delhi:

They might be bitter critics of each other, but both Amit Shah and Rahul Gandhi often mention each other in their wisecracks, jokes and end up adding much-needed chuckles to our lives.

In a meeting of opposition parties, when Congress president Rahul Gandhi's mic malfunctioned, he attributed it to Amit Shah ji. "Amit Shah ji ne mic off kar diya (Amit Shah switched it off)," Mr Gandhi said today during his speech at "Sanjhi Virasat Bachao Sammelan" in the national capital. Laughter followed his quip.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his speech from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort on India's 72nd Independence Day, Mr Gandhi was seated in the front row next to Amit Shah and his wife. It made for a nice photo op.

The bittersweet relationship between the chiefs of their parties isn't new.

In March, when Mr Gandhi had flown to Italy to meet his grandmother, he had announced it on Twitter, the BJP claimed victories in the Left's citadel Tripura and Nagaland. The BJP chief's declaration of the win was accompanied by a dig at Congress ke shehzaade, a term he often uses to describe Mr Gandhi.

He said, "Mujhe WhatsApp pe message aaya hai ki Italy mein chunaav hai (I got a message on WhatsApp that about Italy elections)." He was referring to messages that alleged that Mr Gandhi had gone to Italy to cast his vote in the country's general election.

A few weeks later, during the high-voltage political campaign in Karnataka ahead of the May 12 assembly election, Mr Shah inadvertently mixed up the names of BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa and the former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and lashed out at Mr Yeddyurappa calling him "corrupt".

Mr Gandhi sensed an opportunity. He made ample use of the gaffe and tweeted, "Now that the BJP IT cell has announced Karnataka elections, time for a sneak preview of our top secret campaign video! Gifted to us by the BJP President, our campaign in Karnataka is off to a fabulous start. He says Yeddyurappa ran the most corrupt Govt ever..."

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