Rahul Gandhi accuses PM Modi of insulting ‘gurus’ LK Advani, Vajpayee; BJP hits back

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party BJP for "humiliating" veteran leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, Jaswant Singh and others.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Photo: PTI

NEW DELHI: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party the BJP for "humiliating" veteran leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, Jaswant Singh and others. Referring to Ekalavya, a character in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata, Rahul tweeted, "Ekalavya cut off his right thumb because his Guru demanded it. In the BJP, they cut down their own Gurus." "Humiliating Vajpayeeji, Advaniji, Jaswant Singhji and their families is the Prime Minister's way of protecting Indian culture," he said, attaching a video where Modi purportedly ignoring Advani.

Ekalavya cut off his right thumb because his Guru demanded it. In the BJP, they cut down their own Gurus. Humiliating Vajpayeeji, Advaniji, Jaswant Singhji and their families is the Prime Minister’s way of protecting Indian culture. pic.twitter.com/lqUtBtj0t8

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 12, 2018

Earlier in the day, while addressing a rally of party workers in Mumbai, he alleged that Modi insulted his "mentor" Advani despite Hinduism teaching how a "guru" was the most important person in an individual's life. The Congress leader said he was the first person to pay a visit to former prime minister Vajpayee, who was admitted to the AIIMS in Delhi on Monday following complaints of urinary infection and kidney related issues. He said Modi did not treat his guru (Advani) with respect even at official functions. "Everybody knows who is the guru and mentor of Modi -- L K Advani. But the Prime Minister doesn't accord respect to him even at official functions. It is me who follows protocol and I am always with him (Advani) during (such) events," PTI quoted Gandhi as saying. "Today I feel very sad for Advani ji. The Congress party has given him more respect than Modi ji has," he said. The Congress president said his party fought and defeated Advani in 2004 and 2009 parliamentary elections. "Now it is the Congress and our party's ideology which give respect to Advani," Gandhi said. "We believe Vajpayee has contributed to the country," he said. Reacting to Gandhi's allegations, the BJP said he is practising the "lowest form of politics" and said it was bizarre to see the president of the country's oldest party stoop to such a low. BJP spokesperson Anil Baluni claimed that it was clear that the Congress president has no link with Indian values as he keeps violating political and social norms. Hitting back at the Gandhi, Baluni referred to Congress leaders' criticism of former president Pranab Mukherjee for attending an RSS event, and said the country had seen how the party treated one of its veterans.