The BJP is not happy with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. And while this may seem like a regular turn of events, there have been dozens of tweets railing against him over the last few hours - all from top BJP leaders. The bone of contention is a remark by Gandhi that speaks about the "different type of politics" in North and South India.
And while some argue in his favour, members of the ruling party seem to have been infuriated by what they call belittling remarks against north Indians. And in the hours since the remarks hit news headlines, multiple Union Ministers and Chief Ministers as well as top party leaders have felt the need to respond.
But what exactly did Gandhi say? Referring to past stints as an MP from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress leader compared it to his present role as a leader from Wayanad in Kerala.
"For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north. I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing as suddenly I found that people are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in issues," he was quoted as saying in a PTI article.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath felt the need to defend his state, as did Union Minister Smriti Irani who had wrested away Rahul's Amethi seat in the last election. Calling him "ungrateful", she said that a popular saying about people "without much knowledge blabbering more" was holding true.
Adityanath's comments were far more scathing. Alleging that the Congress leader indulged in "divisive politics", he said that they (the BJP presumably) did not see the country in terms of "north" and "south".
"India was one, is one, and will remain one," he added.
Several other Central leaders also reacted to Gandhi's remarks.
"Look at his gall. The man who ran to Kerala to save his Lok Sabha seat questions the intelligence of North Indians, including those who faithfully voted for his family for generations! Fact is...he was forced to run because of non-performance and lack of development,' tweeted Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
"I hail from the South. I am an MP from a Western state. I was born, educated and worked in the North. I represented all of India before the World. India is one. Never run down a region; never divide us," said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
"A few days back he was in the Northeast, spewing venom against the western part of India. Today in the South he is spewing venom against the North. Divide and rule politics won’t work, Rahul Gandhi Ji! People have rejected this politics. See what happened in Gujarat today!" said BJP Chief JP Nadda.
(With inputs from agencies)
