Sharmila slams BJP leaders for making ‘vile threats’ against Rahul Gandhi

Questioning the ‘silence’ of Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, the APCC chief says the courts need to take suo motu action against the leaders making such remarks

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on September 18 (Wednesday) took exception to the “vile remarks and threats” made by leaders of the BJP and its allies at the Centre against party leader Rahul Gandhi, and demanded an unconditional apology from the Narendra Modi government.

Speaking to the media after staging a protest at Mahatma Gandhi statue in the One Town area along with Congress leaders, Ms. Sharmila slammed Mr. Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for remaining silent to the “obnoxious acts of intimidation” resorted to by leaders of their party and their allies.

Referring to Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu calling Mr. Rahul Gandhi the “number one terrorist of the country,” she said the BJP was a communal party that incited religious riots across the country and gained political benefits from it. It had no right to talk about Mr. Rahul Gandhi, she argued.

She slammed the BJP for its attempts to abolish reservation for the Muslim communities and for “trampling the rights of the marginalised sections.”

Referring to BJP leader Tarvinder Singh Marwah’s alleged “assassination threat” to Mr. Rahul Gandhi to “behave or he will meet the same fate as his grandmother,” Ms. Sharmila said the silence of Mr. Modi and Amit Shah indicated that the leaders resorting to such reprehensible remarks had their tacit support.

Demanding stringent action against them, she said courts should take suo motu action against them.

Caste census

She said Mr. Rahul Gandhi was trying to educate people across the country that the lower strata on the social ladder, comprising the SCs, STs, BCs, had no share in the development, and that there should be equal rights for all sections.

“This is the reason why Mr. Rahul Gandhi has been insisting on caste census,” she said, adding that a handful of wealthy persons owned the top 200 companies in the country.

Later, she lodged a complaint at the Governorpet police station seeking action against the BJP leaders who spoke against Mr. Rahul Gandhi.

Published - September 18, 2024 07:16 pm IST