NEW DELHI: Congress’ Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam on Saturday hit out at BJP national president Nitin Nabin over his “toolkit” remark targeting Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.In a swipe at Nabin, Gautam remarked that “poor Biharis” could only read from scripts handed to them. Bihar is the BJP chief’s home state.“These poor Biharis do not know anything. They simply read out scripts handed to them,” he told news agency IANS.The Congress leader also claimed that BJP leaders were “incapable” of acting independently and accused them of misappropriating donations made in the name of Lord Ram. He was referring to the alleged theft of offerings at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.“They (BJP leaders) are incapable of doing anything on their own. They are people who steal offerings. They have betrayed people’s faith. They came to power in the name of Lord Ram and then stole offerings made in his name. So, whose interests do they serve? We do not take them seriously,” he said.Gautam’s remarks came after Nabin, also in an interview with IANS, accused Rahul Gandhi of being used as an “instrument to destabilise the country.” The BJP chief alleged that the Lok Sabha leader of the opposition was acting as part of a “foreign toolkit”.Nabin cited remarks by Jharkhand minister and Congress leader Irfan Ansari, who claimed that Rahul Gandhi had “complete control” over the “remote button” and could mobilise “40 lakh people” to protest against the Narendra Modi government, similar to the student- and youth-led demonstrations that led to the fall of governments in neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh.
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“You saw how a Congress minister (Ansari) said that Rahul Gandhi has complete control over the remote button and that, whenever he wants, 40 lakh people are ready to create anarchy in the country. I believe this clearly confirms what we have been saying from the beginning — that Rahul Gandhi is being used as a toolkit to destabilise the country and create anarchy,” Nabin said.However, he asserted that India’s democratic foundations remain strong and that the country would give a “fitting response” to those who tried to spread “chaos.”“The democratic roots of this nation are strong. If people think they can destabilise India or spread chaos, they are mistaken. This country will give a fitting response to individuals with such anarchic and Maoist-leaning mindsets,” Nabin added.