RAHUL RESPONDS TO BJP’S ‘MUSLIM PARTY’ JAB: CONG STANDS WITH ALL

NEWDELHI: Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday responded to the alleged “Congress is a Muslim party” remark attributed to him, saying his party stands with all “persecuted” people and “the last person in the line” irrespective of their religious beliefs. The remark, published in an Urdu daily on July 12, has resulted in a war of words between the Congress and the BJP.

On July 13, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the alleged remark at a media briefing to allege that the Congress was playing a “dangerous game” and using the “card of religion and communal division” in the run-up to the 2019 elections.

PM Narendra Modi, too, raised the alleged remark during a speech in Azamgarh on Saturday. He asked if the Congress was a “party only for Muslim men”, alluding to his government’s push to end the practice of triple talaq and alleging the Congress was blocking a bill to abolish it.

Several Congress leaders, including chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, said over the last four days that Gandhi had been misquoted and the allegations being made about the remarks attributed to him were “false and baseless”. On Tuesday morning, the Congress chief said on Twitter: “I stand with the last person in the line. The exploited, marginalised and the persecuted. Their religion, caste or beliefs matter little to me. I seek out those in pain and embrace them. I erase hatred and fear. I love all living beings. I am the Congress.”

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