The BJP hit back at Rahul Gandhi on Sunday over his remarks about the Tamil language and the Emergency. Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, "Comparing it to a barricade is a mockery of democracy." He rejected claims of attacks on Tamil culture and questioned the Congress party’s long record in power.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday hit back at the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of levelling "baseless allegations" against the Narendra Modi-led Union government during his recent Chennai visit, and rejected his claim of an attack on the Tamil language.
"The reality is that the Tamil language has received full respect in Prime Minister Modi's tenure, and efforts were made to take its many dimensions beyond the national level to the international level," Rajya Sabha MP and BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters. He was responding to Rahul Gandhi's claim that Tamil is under attack with the coming of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), which Trivedi called completely wrong.
The BJP leader said the Congress has been out of power in Tamil Nadu since 1967, a gap of 59 years, and challenged the party to match the Centre's record on Tamil culture. "Since 1967 you are out of power in Tamil Nadu. Have you ever done anything of this sort?" he asked.
Trivedi also rejected any comparison between the recent barricading, which he described as a one kilometre cordon, and the Emergency. He said the Defence of India Rules allowed jail without bail, suspended fundamental rights and put the opposition behind bars. The life of Parliament was extended from five years to six, and about 125,000 people were jailed, he said.
"Comparing it to a barricade is a mockery of democracy," he said, adding that many of those who suffered are still alive.
On foreign influence, Trivedi questioned the Congress position on Starlink, citing party leader Jairam Ramesh.
"Why does the Congress always stand with foreign powers?" he asked, naming Union Carbide, Bofors, Agusta Westland and Hindenburg.
Meanwhile, Trivedi hailed the development projects taken up by BJP, mentioning that projects worth ₹13,000 crore were undertaken in Chennai. He listed ₹4,900 crore for Chennai Metro and ₹3,700 crore for national highways, which together add up to ₹8,600 crore, about two-thirds of the total.
Concluding his address, the BJP spokesperson further attacked Rahul Gandhi and the Congress. "You were not speaking the truth then, and you are not speaking the truth today," he said, ending with the claim that the BJP under Modi is "proof of credibility."