After Digvijaya Singh’s tweet thanking the German foreign ministry for ‘taking note’ of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification, Kapil Sibal thanked him for his tweet. But Sibal also said they don’t need endorsements from abroad.
Kapil Sibal took a swipe at senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s tweet thanking the German foreign ministry for ‘taking note of’ the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi (Photo: PTI/File)
By India Today News Desk: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh’s tweet thanking the German foreign ministry for ‘taking note of’ the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi has not only evoked sharp reactions from the BJP, but the grand old party has also distanced itself from the controversy. The Congress said any threat to India’s democracy has to be handled internally.
Yet again left red-faced by Singh, who has been at the centre of many controversies, the Congress promptly attempted to do some damage control.
Now, noted lawyer and former Congress veteran Kapil Sibal has also taken a swipe at Digvijaya Singh’s tweet saying “we don’t need endorsements from abroad”.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Kapil Sibal wrote, “Digvijaya Singh :Thanked Berlin for “taking note of how democracy is being compromised in India “My thought :We don’t crutches to walk ahead We don’t need endorsements from abroad” (sic)
DIGVIYAYA’S TWEET SPARKS ROW
Digvijaya Singh thanked the German foreign affairs ministry after it took note of party colleague Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification. Singh thanked the German foreign ministry and Richard Walker, Chief International Editor of Deutsche Welle, for “taking note of how democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi”.
Singh also tagged a tweet by Walker in which the senior journalist had posted a video of a German foreign ministry spokesperson reacting to Gandhi’s disqualification.
BJP SLAMS CONGRESS
Several BJP leaders attacked the Congress and Digvijaya Singh, accusing the party of ‘inviting foreign interference’ in internal affairs.
ALSO READ | Congress troubleshoots after Digvijaya Singh’s ‘thank you, Germany’ tweet
Sharing a screenshot of Singh’s tweet, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “Thank you Rahul Gandhi for inviting foreign powers for interference into India’s internal matters.”
“Remember, Indian Judiciary can’t be influenced by foreign interference. India won’t tolerate ‘foreign influence’ anymore because our Prime Minister is:- Shri @narendramodi Ji,” Rijiju said.
Slamming the Congress over Singh’s tweet, Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said,”disgrace to nation, @INCIndia & @RahulGandhi don’t believe to fight India’s democratic, political and legal battle within country, hence, invite foreign powers to interfere in our internal matter. But New India headed by @narendramodi Ji will not tolerate any foreign intervention.”
HOW DID THE CONGRESS REACT?
Congress tried to resort to damage control method and said the party firmly believes that India’s democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to its democracy. However, it did not spare a chance to slam the BJP, accusing it of trying to divert attention from the Adani issue.
In a veiled jibe, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote on Twitter, “@INCIndia firmly believes that India’s democratic processes themselves have to deal with the threats posed to our democracy by Mr. Modi’s assault on our institutions & his politics of vendetta, intimidation, threats & harassment.”
The Congress and opposition parties will take him on fearlessly, Ramesh said. Attacking Rijiju for his comments, Congress’ media department head Pawan Khera said, “Mr. Rijiju, why divert from the main issue? The issue is that the Prime Minister cannot answer Rahul Gandhi’s questions about Adani.”
ALSO READ | Germany’s remarks on Rahul Gandhi: BJP leaders accuse Congress of seeking ‘foreign interference’
Instead of “misleading” people, please answer the questions, Khera said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha on March 23 after a court in Gujarat’s Surat convicted him in a 2019 defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark.
Earlier this month, Gandhi’s remarks during his recent trip to the UK had also rocked Parliament. Both Houses failed to transact any significant business in the second half of the budget session.
(With PTI inputs)
