New Delhi, 10 October (H.S.): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the meeting between opposition leaders and the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan, accusing him of attempting to draw the President into what it described as the disorder the opposition was seeking to create on the streets.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters on Saturday, party national spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra said the developments at Jantar Mantar did not represent the true picture of India. He asserted that images circulating on television and certain social media accounts did not reflect the actual situation in the country, claiming that India remained peaceful and was progressing under good governance.

Patra alleged that, over the past few days, certain disruptive elements had been attempting to disturb the atmosphere in a particular part of Delhi, but their efforts had failed completely. Describing the protest as a “flop show” by disruptive elements, he claimed that the entire exercise had collapsed. Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi over his remarks, Patra also referred to him as an “incompetent leader”.

The BJP MP said that several political leaders had visited Rashtrapati Bhavan a day earlier. However, he described Rahul Gandhi’s statement after the meeting as the conduct of an irresponsible leader.

Patra alleged that no one had previously attempted to draw the President into street protests in this manner. He accused Rahul Gandhi of trying to associate the President with what the BJP characterised as an attempt to spread disorder across the country’s streets. The party described the episode as an effort to drag a constitutional office into a political controversy.

Allegations of attempts to disrupt public order

Patra further alleged that the protest at Jantar Mantar was an attempt to hold both India and the national capital hostage. He claimed that efforts had been made to create a situation involving arson and violence during the demonstration, but that these attempts had not succeeded.

According to Patra, the developments represented a victory for democracy over mob rule.

The BJP spokesperson argued that the incident was not an isolated occurrence. He said the Congress had called for a shutdown a few days earlier, followed by a protest, and that another demonstration had been announced for October 12.

He alleged that repeated attempts were being made within a short period to disturb the atmosphere in the country.

Patra also accused the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of internal rivalry, claiming that the two parties were competing to take credit for the protests.

The BJP characterised the alleged dispute as “chaos among those spreading chaos”, questioning the opposition parties’ coordination and their approach to the demonstrations.

The remarks marked a fresh escalation in the political confrontation between the BJP and opposition parties over the protests at Jantar Mantar and the involvement of opposition leaders in the controversy surrounding their meeting with the President.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar