Had Modi been afraid, Trump wouldn't be publicly praising PM to get his attention: BJP slams Rahul

New Delhi, Oct 16 (PTI) The BJP on Thursday slammed the Congress over Rahul Gandhi's remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying if he was really afraid of Donald Trump, the US president would not be publicly saying "Modi is a great man" every few days just to get his attention.

Hitting back at Gandhi, the ruling party also alleged that given the "record of his family" and history of the Congress, it was no surprise that the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha cannot grasp what 'India First' truly means.

This came after the Congress launched a scathing attack on the government over Trump's claim that PM Modi has given an assurance that India will stop buying Russian oil.

Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Modi is "frightened" of the US president and appears to have outsourced key decisions to America.

Reacting sharply, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said on X, "Rahul Gandhi, given your family's record, and your party's history, it's no surprise you cannot grasp what 'India First' truly means." "If Prime Minister Modi were afraid of Donald Trump, then Trump wouldn't be publicly saying 'Modi is a great man' every few days just to get his attention," he said.

"You assume, as your family did, that every prime minister compromises India's interests to please foreign powers," he said, adding, "But, wake up. This is Modi's India, not Rajiv's. India's interests are never up for barter." Lashing out at Gandhi, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said India under the leadership of Modi "will never and has never" compromised its interest and the Ministry of External Affairs has made it clear.

The 50 per cent US tariff is "100 per cent proof" that neither on Operation Sindoor nor on the issue of buying Russian oil India allowed "anyone else to dictate terms", he added.

"Rahul Gandhi, your family is a traitor," the BJP spokesperson wrote on X.

Malviya alleged the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, gave up India's recognition of Tibet, erasing the buffer with China and brought the Chinese right to "our doorstep".

When China struck in 1962, Nehru "meekly surrendered territory and pride alike", he added.

"In 1983, Israel had proposed a joint preemptive strike on Pakistan's fledgling nuclear facilities. The Indian Armed Forces were fully on board. But at the eleventh hour, Indira Gandhi backed out -- under whose pressure?" he said.

Within a few years, Pakistan had the bomb, and ever since, it has "bled India" through cross-border terrorism under "nuclear blackmail", the BJP leader said.

He further alleged that Rajiv Gandhi, when he was the prime minister, "personally ensured" the main accused of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy was flown out of India. "Under whose orders? Or in exchange for what?" he asked the Congress.

Malviya also alleged that after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had "issued a warning" and then prime minister Manmohan Singh "promptly buckled, letting Pakistan walk free".

"A few months later, he was ready to negotiate away India's interests until public outrage forced him to retreat. That was what being afraid of the US really looked like, or perhaps there were personal interests involved. Who knows?” he added. PTI PK PK NSD NSD