Financial Express | Hardeep Singh Puri slams Rahul Gandhi over London remarks, demands apology

Mar 20,2023

Hitting out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on Indian democracy in London, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said that the Congress leader should apologise categorically and unequivocally for asking foreign powers to intervene in domestic matters.

“If any individual goes outside the country he has the freedom to speak but along with that freedom comes the need to have a sense of responsibility. We are the world’s oldest democracy but Mr Gandhi goes to the UK and says Indian democracy is facing an attack on the basic structure,” Puri said at a press conference ahead of the Parliament session.

“He also said the core of the BJP ideology is cowardice. I don’t know what he is trying to say. Today, India is the fifth largest economy and soon we will be the fourth largest economy,” the Union minister added.

He further reminded the Congress party that it was under the Indira Gandhi regime that civil liberties were curbed during the Emergency.

“His grandmother invoked Article 356 50 times to suspend and dismiss legitimately elected state governments,” he said.

Jairam Ramesh coaching Rahul Gandhi
Referring to the clip of Congress leader Jairam Ramesh prompting the Wayanad MP at a press conference last week, the former civil aviation minister further added that Ramesh was tutoring Rahul Gandhi.

During his recent UK visit, Gandhi claimed that the structures of Indian democracy were under attack and there was a “full-scale assault” on the country’s institutions.

Several BJP leaders including party chief JP Nadda, Union Minister Smriti Irani and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed Gandhi for his comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ‘dead democracy’ cries in the UK.

On Monday too, Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm amid uproar in the House over Rahul Gandhi’s democracy remarks.