The Rajya Sabha witnessed heated exchanges and an early adjournment on Monday as Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda strongly condemned derogatory slogans raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the mega rally organised by Congress against the alleged ‘Vote Chori’ in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan the previous day, demanding a public apology from senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
Addressing the Upper House, Nadda said the slogans reflected the Congress party’s “thinking and mentality” and termed such remarks against a sitting Prime Minister as highly condemnable, holding Sonia Gandhi accountable as the party’s senior-most leader.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Nadda said, “Sonia Gandhi ji should apologise to the nation for slogans raised against PM Modi in the Congress rally yesterday. At yesterday’s Congress rally, slogans were raised against PM Modi. This shows the Congress party’s thinking and mentality. Saying such things against a Prime Minister is condemnable. Sonia Gandhi ji should apologise to the nation for this.”
The remarks by Nadda came in the wake of statements made by Congress leader Manju Lata Meena during a rally organised against alleged “vote chori,” where she reportedly said, “Modi teri kabar khudegi, aaj nahin toh kal khudegi” (Modi, your grave will be dug soon, if not today, then tomorrow).
On Sunday, she defended her statement, claiming that she was only reflecting the public anger over alleged vote theft and that no real issues had been addressed by the Prime Minister till now.
“There is so much anger among the public regarding vote rigging. They (BJP) have formed these governments by rigging votes, and the Election Commission is also acting according to their instructions. He (PM Modi) doesn’t talk about employment, youth, women, or farmers. He distracts from the issues,” Meena said. She is also the district president of the Jaipur Women’s Congress.
Earlier on Monday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju strongly criticised the opposition over the same sloganeering against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Congress mega rally against alleged ‘Vote Chori’ claims, highlighting that some opposition leaders had vocalised the idea of killing the Prime Minister.
Addressing the controversy, Rijiju said, “What kind of mindset is this which makes a public announcement about killing rivals? If some Opposition leaders speak about killing the PM, it is really unfortunate.”
