The Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party - fresh off ferocious squabbles last week, over Rahul Gandhi's alleged shoving and injuring of two MPs and George Soros-Sonia Gandhi issue - went head-to-head Thursday over claims the former "distorted" a map of India before its Karnataka event.
The BJP's state unit posted a photo of the poster with the "distorted" map on X, and slammed the Congress for showing "utter disrespect (to) India's sovereignty... by portraying Kashmir as part of Pakistan". "All of this just to appease their vote bank. This is shameful!" the BJP's post raged.
The response was swift. The BJP was accused of lying and trying to derail a "historic" meeting of the Congress Working Committee, which will hold an extended session in Karnataka's Belagavi today and tomorrow, to mark 100 years since Mahatma Gandhi chaired a meeting of the committee.
The row that began with the Karnataka BJP's X post was picked up by senior party leader Shehzad Poonawalla, who fired a stinging attack, declaring the "distorted" map underscored the "Bharat todo, tukde-tukde" mindset of Congress and doubling down on earlier attacks on the rival party.
"Rahul Gandhi stood with (United States lawmaker) Ilhan Omar who wants Kashmir to be part of Pakistan (and) Sonia Gandhi (was) co-president of an organisation that says Kashmir should be given to Pakistan," he said. The latter swipe referred to the Soros issue that roiled this Parliament session.
The BJP had pounced on a report by French publication Mediapart, which alleged "hidden" links between the Soros-founded OCCRP, or Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and the US government. It accused the Congress of working with Soros and the OCCRP to defame India.
The Congress had hit back hard. "We are patriots..." it thundered in response.
Picking up that thread again today, Mr Poonawalla said, "Singing to Pak's tunes and handing over J&K to Pakistan has been the agenda of the Congress... and today that mindset has been exposed again."
The BJP's Amit Malviya also weighed in; "It is part of the Congress' appeasement politics, which believes Indian Muslims are more loyal to Pakistan ... The Congress is the New Muslim League."
The BJP's CR Kesavan, meanwhile, hit out at the Congress over its centenary celebration plans, calling this week's CWC session is a "monumental mockery of the principles of Mahatma Gandhi."
Congress leader Srinivas BV responded fiercely, saying, "This controversy has been created by the BJP and RSS (the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ruling party's ideological mentor). They have a problem with this celebration of 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi taking over as President of the All India Congress Committee... and taking historic decisions to bring reform. They are spreading lies."
The party, according to some media reports, also sought to distance itself from the posters and the criticism by saying the former had not been sanctioned. “These are not official banners of the Congress... they were put out by some followers..." the party's state leader, Nagaraj Yadav, said.
The Congress' top leaders, including party boss Mallikarjun Kharge and MPs Rahul Gandhi, are expected to attend the Belagavi CWC session. Sonia Gandhi is likely to skip the meeting due to ill health, sources said, adding Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would remain with her either way.
With input from agencies
NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
