BJP had attacked Rahul Gandhi over his "hugplomacy" comment on PM Modi. (File photo)
The Congress on Saturday condemned the BJP over its "shameful" barb that Rahul Gandhi was siding with terrorists after he alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "hugplomacy had failed" in keeping the 26/11 terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed under arrest in Pakistan.
Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the BJP leaders in their arrogance have "lost their mental balance" as they targeted Mr Gandhi.
He said the BJP needs to be reminded that Mr Gandhi belongs to a family which made sacrifices for the unity and integrity of the country and accused the BJP of taking political discourse to a new low.
"It is shameful. It deserves to be condemned. The BJP leaders have lost their mental balance in arrogance. Mr Gandhi is the leader of Congress, which has made sacrifices in fighting terrorism and for the integrity of India. For them to say such a thing, I will say it has hit a new low," he said.
On Saturday, the BJP said that its government had succeeded in isolating Pakistan over terrorism, while the UPA treated it as a victim state and let it off lightly.
BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao accused the Congress and its vice president of "repeatedly betraying the country by pandering to anti-India elements" and cited their alleged questioning of surgical strikes to make his point.
Taking to Twitter earlier in the day, Mr Gandhi said, "Narendrabhai, baat nahi bani (this has not worked). Terror mastermind is free," he said, adding that the prime minister's "hugplomacy" has failed.
Mr Gandhi was referring to Modi's bonhomie with US President Donald Trump during his last visit to the US when the two leaders were seen hugging each other several times.