Rahul calls PM ‘casteist’; BJP dubs Cong fast a ‘farce’

NEW DELHI: The Congress’ ‘fast for harmony’ led to fresh acrimony on Monday with party president Rahul Gandhi accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being antidalit and the ruling BJP mocking him for staging a “farce” while its leaders ate “chhola bhaturas”.

Gandhi led his party’s nationwide daylong fast outside Rajghat against caste-based violence, communalism and non-functioning of Parliament, for which it blamed the ruling BJP, and to promote peace and harmony in the country.

The 1984 anti-sikh riots cast a shadow over the ‘Sadhbhavna Upvas’ (fast for harmony) with Congress leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, listed as accused of their alleged role in the riots, being asked to stay away from the stage where Gandhi and the other leaders were sitting.

While Kumar left the venue soon after that, Tytler sat in the audience along with party workers.

It gave the BJP the ammunition it was looking for, with party spokesperson Sambit Patra mocking Gandhi’s fast as a “farce” and describing the party’s decision to keep Kumar and Tytler away from the main dais as its “admission of guilt”.

BJP’S official Twitter handle also showed a photograph of local Delhi Congress leaders eating ‘chhola bhaturas’, which they claimed was ahead of the fast.

Gandhi, who was joined by senior leaders, including Kamal Nath, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sheila Dikshit, Ashok Gehlot, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken and the party’s communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala, arrived at the fast venue at 1 pm while the fast started at 10.30 am.

The fast was replicated across the country by Congress workers in all state and district headquarters.

“This is a fight for the ideology and values which India represents. We won’t allow the politics of hatred and division aimed at garnering votes to succeed,” surjewala told reporters.

Asked about the row over Kumar and Tytler, he said, “Some conspirators in the BJP try to find meaning in everything small or the big thing.”