Rahul Gandhi addresses Masood Azhar using "Ji", gets slammed
Congress President Rahul Gandhi landed himself in a totally unavoidable political row on Monday when he used the suffix "ji" for Masood Azhar, prompting senior BJP leaders to take potshots at him. Addressing a gathering of Congress workers, Gandhi spoke about the Kandahar crisis of 1999, which forced India, then governed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to release Azhar. But his jibe proved expensive.
Rahul reminded everyone about Kandahar crisis
Gandhi spoke about the horrendous CRPF attack of February 14. He said the attack, in which 40 soldiers were martyred, was planned by Jaish-e-Mohammed. He then reminded that JeM's chief Masood Azhar was released almost two decades ago by the then NDA government. Current NSA Ajit Doval was among those who handed over Azhar in exchange of Indian passengers aboard the hijacked IC-814 flight.
Using Azhar's release, Gandhi targeted BJP
However, respect he bestowed on terrorist gave BJP an opportunity
But the jibe backfired brutally. Union Minister Smriti Irani, who took on Gandhi in his bastion Amethi in 2014 elections, tweeted: What is common between Rahul Gandhi and Pakistan? Their love for terrorists. Please note Rahul ji's reverence for terrorist Masood Azhar - a testimony to #RahulLovesTerrorists Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked, "What is happening in Congress?" Soon #RahulLovesTerrorists trended on the micro-blogging website.
They fed biryani to terrorists, wrote Yogi Adityanath
BJP leaders slammed Gandhi
Later, Congress accused BJP of twisting Gandhi's words
Soon, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala blamed BJP and a section of media for twisting the party president's words. "1) Did NSA Doval not escort & release terrorist Masood Azhar in Kandahar? 2) Did Modiji not invite Pak's rogue ISI to investigate Pathankot terror attack," tweeted Surjewala. He used the hashtag #BJPLovesTerrorists to turn the heat back on the saffron party.
Congress asked questions to BJP
Pulwama attack furthered the battle between Congress and BJP
The BJP and Congress have been locked in a verbal battle for days now over the Pulwama attack and IAF strikes. Earlier, Gandhi shared media report which claimed PM Narendra Modi was shooting for a documentary when the attack happened. In turn, BJP shared videos of Gandhi's rallies from the day to drive home the point that he isn't concerned about national security.
