Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 30: The Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “private visit” to Vietnam when the country was mourning the death of the former prime minister Manmohan Singh, provided fresh ammo to the BJP to launch a scathing attack on the Congress and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha to escape from the heat the Congress allegation against the Narendra Modi government of “insulting” the former prime minister had generated.
Launching a blistering attack on Mr Gandhi, the BJP claimed that the Congress leader flew to Vietnam for “New Year celebrations” quickly pointing out that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cancelled the official programme on December 27 to mourn Dr Singh’s death.
On December 27, at 12:30 pm, Mr Modi was to distribute property cards to over 50 lakh people as a part of Swamitva scheme. Government officials say it was a massive nationwide program with crores of people participating and ministers present in various parts of the country. But as a mark of respect to Dr Manmohan Singh, the PM’s programme was cancelled. The former PM passed away on the night of December 26.
The attack and the counter-attack are playing out against the backdrop of the massive political row surrounding the cremation of the former Prime Minister. The Congress has alleged that the ruling BJP had humiliated Dr Singh by organising the cremation at Nigambodh Ghat. The BJP has trashed these allegations and said the Narendra Modi government had provided a state funeral to the former Prime Minister and done everything required to honour his legacy.
The BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “The country is in mourning. The government has announced seven days of national mourning. As expected from Rahul Gandhi, we have received information that he has left for tourism and to party. You will remember that after the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, newspapers had reported how Rahul Gandhi partied all night. And today, he does not care about honouring Dr Manmohan Singh. He just wants to play politics on it.”
As a mark of respect to former PM Manmohan Singh, who died on December 26, a seven-day national mourning is being observed throughout the country during which the national flag will be flown at half-mast across the nation, the Union Home Ministry announced.
Stoking a political row on Monday, BJP IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya said, “While the country is mourning Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s demise, Rahul Gandhi has flown to Vietnam to ring in the New Year.” Malviya accused Rahul Gandhi of politicising the former PM’s death, saying “The Gandhis and the Congress hate the Sikhs. Never forget that Indira Gandhi desecrated the Darbar Sahib.”
Giving the Congress back in its own coin, the BJP has termed Rahul Gandhi’s trip on the New Year’s eve as an “insult” to the former prime minister and is pointing out the “hypocrisy” of Gandhi in targeting the BJP over the last rites of Manmohan Singh. Mr Poonawalla said Gandhi has changed the meaning of his post of LoP (Leader of Opposition) to “Leader of Paryatan (Tourism)” and had disrespected ex-PM Manmohan Singh.”
He further accused Rahul Gandhi of “partying” all night when the deadly 26/11 attack unfolded in Mumbai, Maharashtra. “He is not at all concerned about the demise of Dr Manmohan Singh,” he added. In the aftermath of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, multiple reports had said Mr Gandhi, then 38, partied all night at a farmhouse on Delhi’s outskirts to celebrate his friend Samir Sharma’s wedding.
It comes a day after the BJP slammed the Congress party and the Gandhi family, accusing them of not showing up to collect the remains of Manmohan Singh, which was immersed in the Yamuna river in Delhi on Saturday.
The BJP and Congress also had fiery exchanges over the latter’s demand that Singh be cremated at a site designated for his memorial. While the Congress slammed BJP for “insulting” Dr Singh, the ruling party hit back by accusing the grand old party of engaging in “cheap politics.”
The Congress party reacted sharply to the BJP’s charge, saying that Rahul Gandhi went on a private trip to the foreign and that nobody should have any problem with matters concerning someone’s privacy. “When will the Sanghis stop this ‘Take Diversion’ politics? The way Modi denied Dr Saheb a place for cremation on the Yamuna banks and how his ministers cornered Dr Saheb’s family is shameful. If Mr Gandhi travels privately, why does it bother you? Get well in the New Year,” said Congress MP Manickam Tagore.
Congress MP Tariq Anwar said Mr Gandhi’s trip was pre-planned. “He paid his tribute to Dr Singh and was present during the proceedings,” he said. Mr Poonawalla also said top Congress leaders were missing when the ashes of Dr Singh were being immersed in the Yamuna. “No Congress leader was present there, none from the first family. If someone insulted Dr Singh, it is the Congress and Gandhi family.”
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera has, however, said party leaders skipped the ashes immersion to give privacy to the family. “It was felt that since the family did not get any privacy at the time of the cremation and some extended family members could not reach the pyre site, it would be appropriate to give them some privacy for the Phool Chunana and the immersion of the ashes which is an emotionally painful and difficult ceremony for close family members,” Mr Khera said in a statement.
