The BJP on Monday continued to accuse the Opposition of standing with Pakistan, seizing on Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai's lampooning of the Narendra Modi government's alleged inaction over the Pahalgam terror attack by displaying a toy Rafale jet strung with lemons and chillies.
The BJP accused the Congress leader, who had contested against Modi from Varanasi, of mocking the Rafale fighter jets, lowering the morale of the armed forces and extending an opportunity to the Pakistan media to “mock Bharat”.
“There is tension on the border and occasional firing is being done by the Pakistanis in violation of the ceasefire. But inside the border, leaders of the Congress and the INDI alliance are continuously bombarding the Indian Army with statements,” BJP MP and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.
Trivedi, who was fielded at the party headquarters, accused the Opposition of behaving like Pakistan. “The Congress says that it is with the government, but their leaders make statements that benefit Pakistan. It is just like Pakistan, which plots terror attacks in India and then denies any role,” he said.
Rai had used a toy Rafale strung with lemons and chillies to ask the government when the fighter jets would be used to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack.
As the BJP went all out with the symbolic protest, Rai defended himself. He claimed that his intent was only to urge defence minister Rajnath Singh to take decisive action over the Pahalgam strike that claimed 26 lives.
“When the defence minister went to take delivery of the fighter jet in France, he had hung lemons and chillies on the Rafale planes. I just wanted to open his eyes and tell him that the people of the country want strong action against the plotters and executors of the Pahalgam attack,” Rai told reporters.
The BJP said that lemons and chillies were traditionally used as a totem to ward off evil. “Pakistan fears the Indian Army but the Congress and the INDI alliance are the ones casting an evil eye on our army,” Trivedi said. “In Pakistan, all political parties are standing behind their army but in India the Opposition is with Pakistan,” he alleged.
The BJP’s official X handle put out a post combining Rai’s display of the toy Rafale and the use of the video by a Pakistani news channel. “Congress-Pakistan: a never-ending love story,” the post said.
“After Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, Ajay Rai has become the toast of the Pakistani media, speaking their language and mocking the Indian armed forces," BJP’s social media head Amit Malviya said on X.