New Delhi: The Congress alleged on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP were responsible for dragging the national political discourse into the "gutter" and that they had also succeeded in mainstreaming the fringe in a short span of time.
The comments came on a day a BJP veteran likened Rahul Gandhi to medieval sultans like Alauddin Khilji and Aurangzeb while a minister sought to portray Narendra Modi as the "victim" of maximum abuse.
The sense of outrage in the Congress was caused by the embarrassment the party suffered on Tuesday owing to a post by a magazine linked to the Youth Congress that referred to Modi's tea-seller background.
As the BJP pounced on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul, asking them to clarify if they supported the post, both the Congress and the Youth Congress apologised. They said that though the cartoon was posted by a volunteer, they disapproved of it.
Youth Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Brar tweeted: " Yuva Desh (which posted the meme) is run by volunteers and not the Youth Congress, we don't approve of such humour and apologise. Despite political differences with the BJP and having suffered everyday abuse from their leaders, we respect the Prime Minister and other political opponents."
Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala tweeted: "The Congress strongly disapproves and rejects such humour through memes. Differences on policy and opinions aside, Congress culture imbibes respect for PM and all political opponents."
However, later the Congress hit back at the BJP, pointing to the "sheer brazenness" with which it escaped blame after indulging in "crude and crass" language.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said: "Regret, Apology & Remorse are not in the BJP dictionary. They use the most reprehensible language and heap abuses on our leaders but never apologise. The language of BJP leaders and their supporters on social media should be a subject for PHD thesis."
Singhvi, who accused the BJP of pulling the national political discourse down into the "gutter", pointed out to insults heaped on several sections, including Sonia, by BJP leaders in the past two days.
"Their MP Paresh Rawal said our chair-wala is any day better than your Bar-wala. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani insulted the 'Prajapati' community by calling them chiller. A BJP minister in Madhya Pradesh, Lal Singh Arya, referred to Nathuram Godse as 'Mahapurush.' BJP Bihar chief Nityanand Rai threatened to chop off fingers that are pointed towards Modi," Singhvi said.
The Congress leader said the Prime Minister too used "vulgar language" and asked if Modi had ever apologised.
"He (Modi) recently said 'Congress vikas ke naam par bhaukti hai (the Congress barks in the name of development). He described the Congress as termites and khooni panja (bloody palm).... He called the media bazaroo. He once said 'I had taken a random survey of 20 people, and all of them said they would not hire Soniaji even as a clerk....' Did he ever apologise?" Singhvi said.
On Wednesday, senior BJP leader G.V.L. Narasimha Rao drew a parallel between Rahul and Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate over the Congress vice-president's visits to temples while campaigning for the Gujarat polls.
#"Aurangzeb had destroyed many temples during his rule. However, when common people opposed him, he promised to build two-three temples. Alauddin Khilji did the same.... And now Rahul Gandhi is going in the same direction," Rao said.
Countering the Congress's attack, Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that "if somebody has been abused the most after Independence, it is Narendra Modi. He is a victim."
