'Disgrace': BJP condemns Rahul Gandhi for 'attack on democracy' remarks in Colombia

New Delhi, Oct 2 (PTI) The BJP on Thursday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his "attack on democracy" in India remarks at a seminar in Colombia, accusing him of making baseless claims about the country to "degrade" its stature on foreign soil.

It also flayed Gandhi over his remarks that "British could kill our freedom fighters but our freedom fighters would not act violently against them", and accused him of insulting the country's "martyrs", citing the names of Mangal Pandey, Subhas Chanadra Bose, Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries.

The BJP alleged that Gandhi keeps making comments "against India" out of his "desperation" to gain power, and advised the Congress leader to understand that his party will suffer more losses in elections if he continues to "insult" the country.

Speaking at the EIA University in Medellin, Colombia, on Wednesday, Gandhi said there is a lot that India can offer to the world in terms of its traditions, way of thinking, information technology, engineering capability and healthcare system.

"So, I am very optimistic about India. But at the same time, there are also fault lines within the Indian structure. There are risks which India has to overcome," Gandhi said when asked for his views about India.

Asked to elaborate on the risks that he sees, the Congress leader said, "The single biggest risk is the attack on democracy which is taking place in India. Because India has multiple religions, multiple traditions, multiple languages. India actually is a conversation between all its people." "And, different traditions, different religions and different ideas require space. And the best method for creating that space is the democratic system. Currently, there is a wholesale attack on the democratic system in India. So that's the risk," Gandhi said.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said the other big risk is the different conceptions in different parts of the country.

"Some 16-17 different languages, different religions. So, allowing these different traditions to thrive, giving them space to express themselves is very important for a country like India. We can't do what China does, which is suppress people and run an authoritarian system," Gandhi said.

"Our design will just not accept that," he asserted.

Reacting to Gandhi's remarks, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said there is "complete" democracy in India where people are free.

He condemned the Congress leader for "shamefully insulting" the country with his remarks in Colombia.

"Rahul Gandhi says all sorts of baseless and shameless things against India in India and when he goes abroad, he says there is no freedom of speech in the country," the former Union minister told reporters here.

Flaying the Congress leader, Prasad said, "You level a barrage of false accusations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, roaming all over India. So, democracy has given you the right to abuse people in India. And, you're saying there's no democracy here." Prasad alleged that Gandhi keeps speaking against India because his party's support base is shrinking and he is desperate to gain power.

"The problem with Rahul Gandhi is that they (Congress) don't get votes. He wants power," Prasad said.

"If you insult India going abroad, people will not make you win even those seats that you have got. You must know this," the senior BJP leader added.

Reacting sharply in a post on X, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, "Rahul Gandhi does it again, degrades India on foreign soil.

"From defaming our democracy in London, to mocking our institutions in the US, now in Colombia he spares no chance to insult Bharat globally." "This isn't dissent. It's disgrace to the fake Gandhi," he charged.

"You lost power. Don't lose patriotism. Criticising BJP may be your right but dare you malign Mother India for your cheap and petty politics," the BJP spokesperson added.

BJP MP Kangana Ranaut also hit out at Gandhi for his remarks, calling him a "disgrace".

"He keeps on condemning and criticising the country... That's why I call him a disgrace. He always embarrasses the country and the country is also embarrassed by him," the actor-politician told reporters on the sidelines of an event here when asked for her reaction.

Slamming Gandhi, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya called the Congress leader a "dangerous and delusional person", and said he does not deserve to be the Leader of Opposition.

"Once again, Rahul Gandhi goes abroad and runs down Indian democracy and her people, just because they have rejected him more than ninety times.

"In the run-up to 2024 (Lok Sabha polls), the same man rushed to the world and sought the intervention of foreign agencies in Indian elections," Malviya said on X.

"Such a dangerous and delusional person, who has no faith in Indians, doesn't deserve to be the Leader of Opposition," the BJP leader charged.

Speaking at the seminar, Gandhi said humility and compassion are two good principles and very powerful values enshrined in the Indian political ethos.

"Our entire freedom struggle was in fact the only freedom struggle where these two principles were central. The British could kill our freedom fighters but our freedom fighters would not act violently against them. So, this is a very very powerful and deep value," the Congress leader said.

Reacting sharply, Malviya said Gandhi's understanding of India's freedom struggle is "as shallow as his politics".

"To say that India got freedom without sacrifice or armed struggle is not just ignorance, it is an insult to every martyr who laid down his life for Bharat. Who does he think secured India's freedom," the BJP leader asked.

Malviya also said the Congress leader would like Indians to believe that freedom came through speeches, resolutions and drawing-room debates but the the truth is that it came from a blend of Gandhi's mass movements and the firepower of India's revolutionaries like Veer Savarkar, which "shook British confidence and finally made the Empire pack up".

"For him to dismiss armed struggle is to erase the blood of Khudiram, (Chandrashekhar) Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sitarama Raju, (Subhas Chandra) Bose and countless others. Freedom was not handed over -- ”it was wrested," the BJP leader said, citing the names of Mangal Pandey, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and other revolutionary freedom fighters. PTI PK ARI ARI