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Taking a swipe at Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, senior BJP leader Amit Malviya said she is a “bigger disaster than Rahul Gandhi”
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the ongoing winter session of Parliament, in New Delhi on December 16. (Image: PTI)
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s show of support for war-ravaged Palestine in the form of a bag she carried to Parliament on Monday, attracted a sharp reaction from the BJP.
Calling the Congress “the new Muslim League”, senior BJP leader Amit Malviya called Priyanka a “bigger disaster than Rahul Gandhi”. Taking a swipe, he said a two-minute silence must be observed for the Congress at the end of the winter session.
“At the end of this Parliament session, observe a two minute silence for everyone in the Congress, who believed Priyanka Vadra was the long-awaited solution, they should have embraced earlier. She is a bigger disaster than Rahul Gandhi, who thinks sporting a bag in support of Palestine in the Parliament, is about fighting patriarchy. That is right. Crass communal virtue signaling to Muslims is now cloaked as stance against patriarchy!” he said in a post on X.
At the end of this Parliament session, observe a two minute silence for everyone in the Congress, who believed Priyanka Vadra was the long-awaited solution, they should have embraced earlier. She is a bigger disaster than Rahul Gandhi, who thinks sporting a bag in support of… pic.twitter.com/UHofKVKdei— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 16, 2024
He added: “Make no mistake, Congress is the New Muslim League.”
FROM ‘BIGGEST THREAT’ TO ‘BIGGER DISASTER’
Three days ago, however, Amit Malviya had a different take on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, whose first speech in the Lok Sabha as MP stole the limelight from her brother Rahul Gandhi. He said she could be “the biggest threat” to his political career if that speech was any indication.
In her 32-minute speech in Hindi, she was combative yet restrained, never raising her voice as she raised the Opposition’s key planks. These included the BJP’s alleged attempts to change the Constitution, atrocities on women, violence in Sambhal and Manipur, and the demand for a nationwide caste census.
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In a post on X, he said: “If Priyanka Vadra’s maiden speech is any indication, she poses the biggest threat to Rahul Gandhi’s political career, not just in terms of heir in waiting, but someone who can outmatch him in raising the levity quotient in public discourse.”
If Priyanka Vadra’s maiden speech is any indication, she poses the biggest threat to Rahul Gandhi’s political career, not just in terms of heir in waiting, but someone who can outmatch him in raising the levity quotient in public discourse. 😀— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) December 13, 2024
PRIYANKA MET PALESTINE EMBASSY OFFICIAL LAST WEEK
Priyanka has been raising her voice against Israel’s actions in Gaza and expressing solidarity with Palestinians. Her bag had “Palestine” emblazoned on it along with other Palestinian emblems, including a watermelon – seen as a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
Last week, Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer, charge d’affaires of the Palestine embassy in New Delhi, had called on the new Congress MP to congratulate her on her recent election victory from Kerala’s Wayanad.
In June, she had slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over what she had said were the his government’s “genocidal actions” in Gaza, as she accused him and his government of “barbarism”.
The Congress general secretary’s remarks had come after Netanyahu defended Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza in a speech to the US Congress. She had said it was no longer enough to speak up for the civilians, mothers, fathers, doctors, nurses, aid workers, journalists, teachers, writers, poets, senior citizens and the thousands of innocent children who were being wiped out day after day by the “horrific genocide” taking place in Gaza.
“It is the moral responsibility of every right-thinking individual, including all those Israeli citizens who do not believe in hatred and violence, and every government in the world to condemn the Israeli government’s genocidal actions and force them to stop,” she had said in a post on X.
Priyanka had added that their actions are unacceptable in a world that professes civility and morality.
‘INDIA SHOULD RAISE ISSUE OF ATROCITIES AGAINST MINORITIES WITH BANGLADESH’
In Lok Sabha on Monday, Priyanka also raised the issue of reported atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh on the occasion of Vijay Diwas. She said the central government should raise the issue of atrocities on minorities in Bangladesh with the neighbouring country.
In her ‘zero hour’ reference, she sought the Centre’s support for those in pain because of the attacks. “The government should raise the issue of atrocities on minorities, both Hindus and Christians, in Bangladesh. Should discuss this with the Bangladesh government and support those who are in pain,” she said.
(With PTI inputs)
