‘Modi is no Vajpayee’: BJP tears into Rahul Gandhi for ‘heckling’ PM during Lok Sabha speech

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tore into Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for allegedly encouraging his fellow MPs to “heckle” Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech in the lower House, saying his mother, Sonia Gandhi, would do the same to then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“But Narendra Modi is no Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Rahul Gandhi isn't Sonia either,” said BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya in a post on X.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also questioned Rahul Gandhi's position as Leader of the Opposition, sharing a video that allegedly shows the Congress leader urging other MPs to storm the well of the House in protest. “Does Rahul even deserve to be LoP?” he asked.

“What Balak Buddhi Rahul Gandhi did yesterday is neither surprising nor new. His mother Sonia Gandhi would do the same. to heckle Prime Minister Vajpayee… But Mr Modi is no Vajpayee and Rahul isn’t Sonia either. Third Time Fail Rahul Gandhi has reduced himself to a caricature,” Amit Malviya said.

He also shared a video of Rahul Gandhi in which the Congress MP is seen shouting slogans and urging other Opposition MPs to disrupt the prime minister's speech. In their slogans, the Opposition demanded a government statement on the violence in Manipur, accusing the ruling party and PM Modi of “lying”.

The slogans “Jhooth bole kavva kaate” and “Manipur ko nyay do” echoed through the halls of Lok Sabha as Narendra Modi entered the lower House.

PM Narendra Modi, facing continuous sloganeering from the Opposition members over the situation in Manipur, reserved a large part of his speech to attack the Congress and Rahul Gandhi.

In his over two-hour reply to the motion of thanks on the President's address in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi took “baalak buddhi” and “tumse na ho payega” jibe at its leader Rahul Gandhi.

Taking a veiled jibe at Rahul Gandhi over Congress' performance in the Lok Sabha election 2024, PM Modi said the party was trying to establish that it was a “moral victory” but in reality, “Bachhe ka mann behlane ka kaam chal raha hai”.

"This is the first time in Congress's history that they have not crossed the 100-seat mark three times in a row. This is the third biggest defeat in the history of Congress. It would have been better if Congress had accepted its defeat and respected the mandate of the people but they are busy doing some 'Sirsasana' and Congress and its ecosystem are trying to establish in the minds of the citizens of India that they have defeated us," PM Modi said.