Rahul deserted sinking ship, says Shivraj; mocks transfer of power to Sonia

BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Monday likened Rahul Gandhi's resignation as Congress president to the captain deserting a sinking ship and mocked the transfer of power in that party to Sonia Gandhi. "It is like Ahmed's cap on Mohammad's head and Mohammad's cap on Ahmed's head," he said, commenting on the responsibility shifting to Sonia Gandhi who is now the interim president of the Congress.

The BJP national vice-president and a former Madhya Pradesh chief minister also said instead of Rahul Gandhi's resignation, the chief ministers of the states ruled by the Congress should have quit for "failing" to waive crop loans and provide unemployment allowance. "We have heard that if any ship sinks, the captain makes efforts to save it till the last breath. But the Congress captain took the first plunge," Chouhan said, adding that there was no Congress president for several days.

"And the interim president is again Madam (Sonia Gandhi). It is like Ahmed's cap on Mohammad's head and Mohammad's cap on Ahmed's head. 'Kabhi mai, kabhi tum'," he added. Chauhan also sought an apology from Rahul Gandhi for not replacing the chief ministers after they "failed" to waive crop loans within 10 days of coming to power.

"Now, eight months have passed. Crop loans of farmers have not been waived. The chief ministers were not removed but the Congress president himself resigned," he said, calling the former Congress chief "Ranchhod Gandhi". The three-time chief minister of Madhya Pradesh also said the Congress would not blossom till it overcame the 'parivarvad'.

"Till the Congress party remains slave to a family, it cannot blossom," he said. Chouhan sought to know the Congress stand on the recent scrapping on the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution.

He said while some of the Congress leaders were opposing the move, others praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for it. "The Congress is not able to clear its stand on such a big issue. Interim president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have not spoken even a word. Priyanka Gandhi's associates misbehaved with a journalist. The country is seeking an answer from the Congress," he said.

He accused former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of committing a historic mistake and taking the internal matter of the country to the United Nations. "The special status given to Jammu and Kashmir through Article 370 let the terrorism flourish in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi corrected the mistake committed 70 years ago," Chouhan said.

He blamed the Congress governments in states for not being able to check crimes against women, children and SC/STs. He pointed at the Harish Jatav case in Rajasthan's Alwar district, saying action was not taken against the accused.

He said the appeasement politics had ruined the Congress as well as the country. Chouhan, who is also the convener of the BJP's national membership drive, was here to address a state-level meeting, where it was told that the BJP gained 47 lakh new members against the target of 50 lakh in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)