New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said India is “divided internally”, and has become “weak externally”, adding that the situation has damaged India’s global standing.
Amid the ongoing controversy around the comments of former BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, Congress launched an attack at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing it of dividing the nation. The BJP on Sunday took action against its Delhi unit media cell head Navin Kumar Jindal and party national spokesperson Nupur Sharma for their inflammatory comments.
“Divided internally, India becomes weak externally. BJP’s shameful bigotry has not only isolated us, but also damaged India’s standing globally,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.
Party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also accused the BJP of pushing communal polarisation, and said, “On one hand, BJP insults India’s age-old tradition of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ by spreading religious polarization and hatred, and on the other, pretends and hypocrites respect for all religions. This foul language is unbelievable.”
“The lust for power of the BJP leadership is causing irreparable damage to the country’s culture of ‘Sarva Dharma Sambhav’,” he said.
Jindal and Sharma had been in the center of a controversy for making comments against Prophet Muhammad, which create a huge uproar within the country, and also drew flak internationally from many Muslim countries including Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudia Arabia. Sharma was suspended from the party while Jindal was expelled.
In a statement, the BJP, without citing any particular incident, on Sunday said it respects all religions and strongly denounces insult of any religious personality.
