Bhubaneswar: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is well known for stirring the controversy pot every time he speaks.
The Gandhi scion always tries to sport the rebel hero image. But in his diatribe against the arch rival BJP, Rahul Gandhi transgresses the threshold line of staying economical with the fact, only to court controversies and hog the headlines for wrong reasons.
Instances are galore in recent past.
During his US visit last year, Rahul Gandhi was heard saying on the foreign soil that "Sikhs in India face much difficulty in wearing turban or Kada".
Way back in 2010, the Wikileaks cable quoted Rahul Gandhi then saying to then US Ambassador Timothy Roemer that Hindu extremism is bigger threat to India than Lashkar-e-Toiba.
In March 2024, after concluding his 63-day long Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi was quoted saying:
“There is a word 'Shakti' (might) in Hinduism. We are fighting against a Shakti. The question is, what is that Shakti and what does it entail for us? The soul and integrity of EVMs have been traded to the King (PM Modi). This is a fact. Not just EVMs but every autonomous institution have traded its spine to the Centre."
JANUARY 15, 2025
Rahul Gandhi Wednesday, during his address to the party workers and leaders at the inauguration of “Indira Bhawan”, speaking almost on the same lines, sans taking the words like EVMs, said:
“Do not think we are fighting a fair fight. There is no fairness in this. If you believe that we are fighting a political organsiation called the BJP or RSS, you have not understood what is going on. The BJP and the RSS have captured every single institution of our country. We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian State itself.”
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARCH 2024 &Jan 2025
Almost a year is about to complete, but Rahul’s penchant with stoking controversies have not died down.
In March 2024, Rahul Gandhi charged the PM Modi led government of controlling all the autonomous institutions in the country, and he was making a sharp attack on Election Commission then.
On January 2025, the Leader of Opposition has stoked a much bigger controversy, when holding a constitutional post he declared, we are fighting with the “Indian State” itself.
WHY IT IS BIG?
Fighting with ‘Indian State’ has a larger repercussion. Indian State consists of Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. By stating so, the Leader of Opposition has painted all the 3-organs of Indian State with the same brush. Therefore, it has kicked up another big controversy.
FM SITHARAMAN HITS BACK
Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman, who has been a fiery spokeswoman of BJP since her joining the party in 2008, was the first to jump to the fray hitting LoP Rahul Gandhi’s fighting ‘Indian State’ remark.
Taking on to X, the Finance Minister posted "The LoP, who was sworn in by taking oath on the constitution, is now saying , “We are fighting with the BJP , the RSS and the Indian State itself.
Tagging to Rahul Gandhi and Indian National Congress, Sitharaman asked, “So, @INCIndia and @RahulGandhi, what for are you carrying a copy of the constitution into the hand?”
BOTTOMLINE: The Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman took a swipe at LoP Rahul Gandhi for saying “fighting with the Indian State”, to which he is a part. She also took a big jibe by wrapping into Rahul’s latest public action of showing and carrying Constitution book – be it in Parliament or public rallies - and trying to flag it as the lack of LoP's belief in the constitution.
