New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said "those filled with hate are defaming India", in sharp comments seen as his first (and veiled) response to Rahul Gandhi's remarks in the United States last week, including one freedom for religious minorities, like the Sikhs, in the country. Mr Modi was speaking in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, where he inaugurated infrastructure projects worth Rs 8,000 crore.
The PM did not name Mr Gandhi but accused "some people" of acting against the interests of the country. "... (some) filled with negativity are targeting India's unity. Those filled with hate are not leaving any chance to defame India and Gujarat... want to do tukde, tukde (break-up) the country," he said.
He also made campaign references ahead of the first phase of voting, on Wednesday, for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, hitting out at the Congress and its ally, the National Conference.
The two have promised to restore special status for J&K under Article 370, which was scrapped by the ruling BJP, which also split J&K into two union territories, in August 2019.
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Looking to strike an emotive note with voters in J&K and in other poll-bound states this year, including Haryana and Maharashtra, Mr Modi said the first 100 days of his third term had seen him insulted and mocked by his critics, but that "if I live for you... I will sacrifice myself for you."
Rahul Gandhi's comments in the US - at various public events, including those attended by Indian students and diaspora community members - have drawn fierce responses from a battery of union ministers, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, but this is the first time Mr Modi has alluded to the Congress leader's jabs.
Mr Gandhi, interacting with diaspora members, spoke about the fight with the BJP being an ideological divide over questions like "... is a Sikh allowed to wear a turban (or) kada (a steel bangle)?
The remark was fiercely condemned by Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who pointed to the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, after Mr Gandhi's grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated.
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Mr Jaishankar, while addressing Indian diaspora in Switzerland, said, "Life is not 'khata-khat' (an easy job) ... it requires hard work." Use of the phrase was seen as a jab at Mr Gandhi, who earlier claimed the Congress would solve issues 'khata khat' if voted to power.
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Rahul Gandhi also came under attack from Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who last week said people holding high office (Mr Gandhi is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha) were "behaving in such a way they have forgotten the oath of allegiance to the Constitution".
Among his many comments - including those on Indian foreign policy and relations with China - Mr Gandhi had also attacked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, seen as the ideological mentor of the BJP. That attack triggered furious responses of its own.
Mr Gandhi said neither the BJP nor the RSS understood that India is for all people, and, using a plate of food as an example, said, "In India everything works together...if someone says rice is more important than dal, and vegetable are the least important, what will happen?"
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