New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s social media post on Gen Z, amidst his ‘vote theft’ allegation, has triggered a political row, with BJP leaders and ministers accusing him of trying to instigate a civil war in the country on the lines of what happened in Nepal and Bangladesh.
On 18 September, Gandhi, after his press conference claiming deletion of voters from Karnataka’s Aland constituency, took to X and wrote: “The youth of the country, the students of the country, the Gen Z of the country will save the Constitution, protect democracy, and stop vote theft. I always stand with them. Jai hind!”
Leading the charge, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey came down heavily on the Gandhi family and and said on social media, “Gen Z is against family politics” and hence, “Why would they tolerate Rahul Ji after Nehru Ji, Indira Ji, Rajiv Ji, Sonia Ji?… They are against corruption, why wouldn’t they chase you away? They want to make an Islamic nation in Bangladesh and a Hindu nation in Nepal, why wouldn’t they make India a Hindu nation? Get ready to leave the country, they are coming….”
Dubey further said that Rahul Gandhi wants to associate himself with what happened in Nepal and Bangladesh but Gen Z has already brought change in the country.
“Gen Z means the next generation, the youth and what they want to decide about their nation and change the government. Gen Z has already done this in India,” Dubey said, citing the Anna and Arvind Kejriwal movement as a result of Gen Z.
The Lok Sabha MP cited the example of the Nirbhaya rape case and said that one lakh people were out on the streets in 2013, but the BJP decided not to instigate violence.
Dubey said Gandhi wants to associate himself with what happened in Nepal and Bangladesh. However, he said, in both countries, Gen Z was against nepotism and ‘Parivarvaad’.
“Where is the ‘Parivarvaad’?… It has been in the Gandhi family for decades… If he wants to provoke Gen Z, then I am with Rahul Gandhi; the entire Congress party will have to abscond from the country… In Nepal and Bangladesh, the Gen Z were against corruption… All the scams have been done by the Congress. We have no allegation of a scam in the last 11 years,” Dubey said.
Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines, while congratulating ABVP on winning the DUSU elections, said: “Gen Z gave Rahul Gandhi’s ‘democracy saviour’ jibe a reality check by rejecting Congress’ students wing in DUSU. Congrats to our young ABVP Yoddhas!”. ABVP is the students’ wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and both ABVP and the BJP are part of the Sangh Parivar.
Speaking to reporters in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut also slammed Gandhi’s comments and said he has always given statements that shame the country.
“He is calling Gen Z to protest, implying that the Nepal model should be implemented here, but he should know that in Nepal, Gen Z has toppled a dynastic government. They don’t know what’s happening in the world,” she said.
Ranaut was joined by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who not only accused Gandhi of speaking the language of the ‘Urban Maoist’, but said he was trying to incite Gen Z against a democratically elected government.
Fadnavis also took a jibe at Gandhi’s vote theft allegations: “Yeh vote chori ka mamla nahi hai, Rahul Gandhi ji ka dimag chori hogaya hai (This is not a matter of vote theft, it is about theft of Rahul Gandhi’s brain),” the Maharashtra CM said.
BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain also slammed Gandhi for allegedly provoking young citizens: “Rahul Gandhi is inciting youth, students, and Gen Zs of the country. He is provoking them against the nation. This is completely unacceptable. The youth of this country admire PM Modi. They know that this government works for them and for the poor.”
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said, after several “failed attempts of being launched”, Gandhi thinks he can use alternative routes to come to power when people are not electing his party.
“Chandrayaan succeeded in its second launch, but Rahul Gandhi has not, even after so many launches. He failed 20-25 times… He thinks that if he cannot come to power democratically, then he will use alternative routes. This mentality can never be acceptable to the people of India because we have been a democratic country forever… The roots of democracy in India are from time immemorial… People do not like his call for anarchy….”
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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