Union Minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh on Sunday took a dig at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his "silence" on the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a member of Lok Sabha. He indicated that the JDU leader was happy as Gandhi’s removal from the lower house meant an increased chance of Kumar taking over the leadership position of the Opposition camp, reported news agency PTI.
Singh said, "He (Kumar) must be chuffed that his chances have become brighter. After all, competing ambitions for the elusive top slot has become the defining trait of all parties (opposed to BJP).”
Giriraj Singh, a Member of Parliament from Begusarai, was talking to reporters at the Bihar BJP headquarters on Sunday on the ongoing controversy related to Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification. He questioned Kumar’s silence over the matter even though top JD(U) leaders, including the national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, had condemned the disqualification of Gandhi in unison, reported PTI. The BJP leader also slammed Gandhi for the “my name is not Savrakar” jibe, which was made by the Congress leader yesterday during a press conference in New Delhi following his disqualification.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had said, “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone," reported PTI. Singh said it will take "many lifetimes" for the Congress leader to become like the freedom fighter-turned- Hindutva mascot Savarkar. "It will take many lifetimes for Rahul Gandhi to become like Savarkar,” Singh said, as quoted by PTI.
He said the Congress leader was behaving like an emperor (shahenshah) who had no respect for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Singh reacted strongly to Gandhi’s statement that he would not apologise for defamatory remarks that led to his conviction by a Gujarat court, with the same remark of "my name is not Savarkar", reported PTI. Rahul Gandhi was referring to Savarkar with respect to the petition for clemency of V D Savarkar during his time in jail under British rule in India.
Gandhi and the Opposition parties have been taking swipes at the BJP, saying that Savarkar asked for mercy from the British imperialists.