New Delhi: At the time when country is battling against deadly Coronavirus, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress in the opposition have got into a war of words, politicising the factors behind the outbreak of second wave of Covid-19.
Both the parties boast their efforts and initiatives to tackle the pandemic, and at the same time blame each other for the worsening situation. While Congress has continuously raised questions on the ongoing construction under Central Vista Project, the saffron party has expressed strong condemnation, and accused Congress of being ‘politically selfish’.
EXPLAINED | 10 Points About The 'Congress Toolkit' Released By BJP
Turning the spat into an intense brawl, BJP recently shared an alleged "Congress toolkit" and said that the party was trying to smear Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India. BJP alleged that at the time of Corona, when the entire country is fighting the epidemic, the Congress is trying to 'humiliate and discredit' India across the world for its political selfishness.
A day after sharing few pages of the alleged toolkit, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Wednesday claimed that the document was written by a woman identified as Saumya Varma.
Who Is Saumya Varma?
Sharing few photos on his official twitter account, Sambit Patra on Wednesday said that toolkit was written by Saumya Varma, who is seen standing behind Rahul Gandhi.
In press conference held today, the BJP spokesperson alleged that the domain expert identified Varma's name from the shared toolkit document. He went on to allege that Saumya is associated with Member of Parliament M. V. Rajeev Gowda, who currently serves as Chairman of the "Congress Research Department."
Training guns at Congress senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, Patra in a tweet said, "Congress wanted to know who is the writer of this toolkit. Check the property of this paper. Author- Saumya Varma. Who is Saumya Varma? The evidence itself is speaking. Will Rahul and Sonia answer now?"
Reacting to Patra's remarks, Rajeev Gowda in a tweet said, "Patra is showing metadata/author of a real document & attributing it to a FAKE".
On Tuesday, Patra alleged that Congress prepared multiple toolkits from day one to “tarnish India’s image” and said the only aim is to defame and divert. Nadda too lambasted the Congress over the toolkit and alleged the Congress is a master at “diving society and spewing venom against others”.
What is 'Congress Toolkit'?
According to screenshots circulated by the BJP, the document says: "Use the phrase 'Indian strain' whenever talking of the new mutant. Social media volunteers may call it 'Modi strain'." In the shared document there's a section on the PM-CARES fund which says, "Mobilise former civil servants to raise questions about PM-CARES like they did earlier" and "Mobilise friendly RTI activists to file multiple RTIs" on the fund. The document also links the Kumbh Mela to be a super spreader event, it suggests to use the term "super spreader Kumbh".
Congress Junks Away 'Toolkit', Files FIR Against Nadda, Patra
Meanwhile, the Congress Party has lodged an FIR for forgery against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President J.P. Nadda and saffron party spokesperson Sambit Patra over the “fake” toolkit shared by the ruling party at the Centre on “COVID-19 mismanagement” and “attributing it to AICC Research Department”.
Congress national spokesperson Sunil Ahire said the saffron party “shamelessly concocts forgeries” instead of providing relief “when our country is devastated by COVID”.