New Delhi [India], December 15 : Bhartiya Janata Party MP Saumik Bhattacharya on Monday took a swipe at LoP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, reacting to the recent sloganeering against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Congress mega rally, and said that he was the first to run when Home Minister Amit Shah was speaking in the Parliament.
"When the Home Minister was speaking in Parliament, they ran away, and Rahul Gandhi was the first to flee. I have one humble request to Rahul Gandhi: Please go to West Bengal, visit Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's home, have tea with him, and ask him why he made that statement that in West Bengal, it's not vote theft, but vote dacoity..." he said.
Earlier, Union Parliamentary leader Kiren Rijiju strongly condemned the Congress party over slogans targeting PM Modi, terming the remarks highly inappropriate. He said that abusing the Prime Minister does not befit a civilised society.
The Union Minister demanded that the Congress party offer a public apology in Parliament. He emphasised that mere condemnation of such statements would not be enough.
"Merely condemning is not enough. The Congress president and LoP should apologise to the country. I think that if any humanity is left with them and if the Congress party wants to give any respect to the country, they should not delay and apologise to the country from the Floor of the Parliament. Only then will we agree that they committed a mistake, and the Congress party admitted the mistake.
Earlier, Congress leader Manju Lata Meena, during a rally organised by the party against alleged "vote chori," had reportedly stated, "Modi teri kabar khudegi, aaj nahin toh kal khudegi" (Modi, your grave will be dug soon, if not today, then tomorrow).
On Sunday, Meena defended her statement, claiming she was only expressing public anger over alleged vote rigging and accusing the Prime Minister of failing to address key issues.
"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.