Kapil Sibal defended Rahul Gandhi from BJP attacks over comment on Kerala voters (Archive)
New Delhi:
The “wisdom of the voters” must be respected, because “they know who to vote for and why,” Kapil Sibal said on Wednesday, as the congressional leader balanced criticism of Rahul Gandhi’s comment on Kerala voters with advocacy. from his hardline BJP colleague. Attacks
Sibal, who is part of a small group that has openly questioned the party’s leadership as it progressed from one electoral defeat to another, said that while Rahul Gandhi could better explain his comment, the BJP’s allegations: that Congress is trying to “divide and rule” – they were “ridiculous”.
“I am no one to comment on what (Mr. Gandhi) said. He said it and can explain in what context he said it … (but) we must respect the voters in the country and not denigrate their wisdom. They know who to vote and why, “Sibal told the ANI news agency.
“(And) it is ridiculous for the BJP to say that Congress is trying to divide the country. This is a government that has divided people since it came to power in 2014,” he added.
On Tuesday Mr Gandhi, in Kerala campaigning for the Assembly elections, said: “For the first 15 years I was a deputy in the north. I had gotten used to a different kind of politics. Coming to Kerala was very refreshing, since I suddenly discovered that people are interested in problems … and not just superficially … “
“There is intelligence with which you do your politics,” Gandhi added.
The comment was attacked by the BJP, and union ministers mocked him and reminded him that voters against whom he was “spitting poison” had rejected it in Uttar Pradesh.
BJP chief JP Nadda was among those who tweeted and said: “A few days ago I was in the Northeast, spewing poison against the western part of India. Today in the South it is spewing poison against the North. The policy of dividing and rule won. ” t work … People have rejected this policy … “
A few days ago I was in the northeast, spewing poison against the western part of India.
Today in the south he is spewing poison against the north.
The politics of divide and rule won’t work @RahulGandhi Hee!
People have rejected this policy. See what happened today in Gujarat! https://t.co/KbxZSJ4sdt
– Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) February 23, 2021
The BJP’s attack on Mr. Gandhi was swift and severe, with union ministers S Jaishankar, Hardeep Singh Puri, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Dharmendra Pradhan and Kiren Rijiju all taking shots, accusing him of trying to “divide and rule” and labeling him as ” the man”. who ran to Kerala. “
Mr. Gandhi is currently the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad of Kerala.
He was previously a MP for Amethi of the UP, a Gandhi stronghold overturned by Smriti Irani of the BJP in 2019. He contested from both seats and only retained his MP status after winning the first.
Congressional spokesman Randeep Surjewala also defended Rahul Gandhi today, accusing the BJP of spreading a “toolkit,” a reference to the case against climate activist Disha Ravi, accused of sedition, to divide the country.
Surjewala drew attention to what he said were the real problems facing the country: falling GDP and the general state of an economy that is “practically in shambles.” He said the real problems also included the fact that people had “lost their right” to disagree and express themselves.
With contributions from ANI, PTI
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