Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shehzad Poonawalla launched a scathing attack against Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi saying that he has flown abroad to celebrate when the entire nation is mourning Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s demise. He said that the Congress party has abused and insulted’ Dr Singh.
While speaking to the media, Shehzad Poonawala stated, ‘Rahul Gandhi has changed the meaning of LoP from Leader of Opposition to Leader of 'Paryatan' (tourism) and Leader of Party. At a time when the country is grieving the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi has left for 'Paryatan' (tourism) and partying...’ He further said, ‘Rahul Gandhi and 'Paryatan' is nothing new. When the 26/11 attacks happened in Mumbai, he was partying all night. He is not concerned about the demise of Dr Manmohan Singh...’
Lashing out at Rahul Gandhi, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya also said, ‘While the country is mourning Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s demise, Rahul Gandhi has flown to Vietnam to ring in the New Year’. Malviya stated that Rahul Gandhi has exploited Dr Singh’s death for his expedient politics and that Gandhis and the Congress party carry hate against Sikhs.
Meanwhile, the Congress party reacted sharply to the BJP’s charge, saying that Rahul Gandhi went on a private trip to the foreign and that nobody should have any problem with matters concerning someone’s privacy.
As a mark of respect to former PM Manmohan Singh, who died on December 26, a seven-day national mourning is being observed throughout the country during which the national flag will be flown at half-mast across the nation, the Union Home Ministry announced.