Rahul Gandhi Alleges "Foreign Help" To PM, BJP Hits Back With Old UK Video

The BJP launched a fierce counterattack against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi after he alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power and continues in office "because of foreign help."

BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan called Gandhi a "lousy con artist" and accused him of hypocrisy, pointing out that it was Gandhi who had previously sought foreign interference in India's internal affairs during his overseas trips.

"Rahul Gandhi is such a lousy con artist that his third-rate lies always backfire and end up humiliating him," Kesavan said in a post on X, responding to the Congress leader's attack on the prime minister.

He referred to a political row over Gandhi's remarks in the UK in March 2023 where the Congress leader had spoken about the state of Indian democracy before British MPs and think tanks.

"In 2023, while speaking in London ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, it was Rahul Gandhi who had pleaded and sought foreign interference in India's internal affairs, stating, 'It is not just an Indian battle'," the BJP leader wrote.

Kesavan also shared an archival video clip from that London interaction in which Gandhi is heard questioning why Western powers were not reacting to alleged democratic backsliding in India: "So the surprising thing is that the so-called defenders of democracy, which are the United States and European countries, seem to just be oblivious that a huge chunk of the democratic model has come undone, right? That is a real problem with regard to where, frankly, the Opposition is fighting that battle, right? It's not just an Indian battle. It's actually a much more important battle..."

Kesavan then alleged the Congress's top leadership had links with the Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific (FDL-AP), an international organisation that the ruling party said got funds from billionaire George Soros' foundation and had previously supported separatist activity in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Why has Congress ducked and dodged addressing the allegations of Sonia Gandhi serving as co-president Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific, which backed the idea of Kashmir as an independent nation and has close links to George Soros?" Kesavan said.

He then referred to controversies over US short seller Hindenburg Research's critical reports on Indian firms and Gandhi's past interactions abroad with German academic Cornelia Woll, who runs the Hertie School in Berlin and sits on the board of a Soros-backed institution.

"Why have Rahul Gandhi and the Congress maintained a shady silence on their close association with entities and individuals like Hindenburg, Cornelia Woll, who are intrinsically linked with organisations funded by George Soros?" Kesavan added.

The BJP spokesperson also trained his guns on Gandhi's frequent, unannounced visits abroad - which the BJP has repeatedly criticised over the years - terming the alleged lack of transparency around his itinerary a matter of national security given his constitutional post as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

"Why does Rahul Gandhi often disappear on foreign trips? Who does he secretly meet and what is the agenda of these clandestine meetings? The nation demands an answer..." Kesavan said.

The war of words erupted after Gandhi took to X to hit out at PM Modi over his Rashtriya Ekta Diwas speech. Seeking to turn PM Modi's warning about foreign conspiracies back on the government, Gandhi alleged without citing specifics that the Modi government and financial system were propped up by external actors.

"I challenge you to an open debate about this. Any stage, any time. Come if you have the guts. You won't dare, because you are terrified of what I know about you," Gandhi said.

In a veiled swipe at the Opposition, PM Modi had cautioned citizens against "obstructionist forces" trying to divide the nation and tarnish India's image from abroad.

"Certain forces are continuously engaged in conspiracies to divide the country... After more than a decade of frustration and disappointment, these forces have now come out in the open... Who is secretly meeting whom abroad? Whom are anti-India forces supporting? Who is speaking the language of India's enemies? We must recognise all these patterns and confront them together... Especially the way social media is being weaponised, rumours are being spread, and attempts are being made to tarnish India's..." PM Modi had said, according to a report by The Indian Express shared by Gandhi on X.