A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the Congress’s repeated attempts to “launch” Rahul Gandhi, the BJP stepped up its personal attacks on the Opposition leader on Friday, with spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi calling him a “failed product” and questioning his mental stability.
Trivedi said the Congress has been "dismantling India's entire system, its culture, traditions and the Hindu faith" by such attempts.
This came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked Rahul Gandhi, saying the country did not have as many rocket launches from Sriharikota in one year as the Congress has made failed attempts to launch its leader.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Trivedi cited some examples to allege how Rahul is a "failed product" and yet the Congress is "unsuccessfully" trying to launch him repeatedly.
He also cited examples to support his allegation that the Congress leader is a "mentally unstable person".
"He got admission to St. Stephen's College in Delhi as a national-level archer and marksman, but then, his aim faltered, and it kept faltering, time and again. Since then, the country has never seen any sign of him in the world of marksmanship," the BJP spokesperson said.
"Then he went to England for his studies in keeping with his family tradition. Between 1996 and 1999, he worked at a British company, which eventually shut down. Later, he became a partner in another British firm, serving as a director, and that company also shut down," he added.
Trivedi further alleged that Rahul Gandhi brought the Congress to its "lowest point in 140 years" with the party witnessing its decline with electoral setbacks under his leadership.
"Just consider the impact he has. Wherever he sets foot, disaster follows," he added.
"Rahul Gandhi's recent remarks that he is in touch with 200 government officers and that the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar sends messages to him are signs of the Congress leader's unstable mind," the Rajya Sabha member alleged.
"He claimed that there are no women in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), yet he makes a contradictory claim that women associated with the Sangh are providing him with information. He also asserts that the police officers who were detaining him (during the recent anti-SIR protest) whispered to him that he was right," he said.
"Now, consider the manner in which he entered the Akashvani premises. Do you believe this reflects a balanced state of mind? Recall the incident in Parliament when he hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and retired to his seat, making a gesture by winking his eye," Trivedi said, adding, "Do you think this is the conduct of a mature, serious, and stable individual?"
He said that sometimes, due to a "specific type of deranged state of mind, or occasionally following the consumption of certain substances", an individual may experience "hallucination".
"The critical issue here is that the Congress has begun to act as if this hallucination (of Rahul) were the truth. By mistaking (Rahul's) state of 'madhoshi' for reality, the Congress has lost its own senses. By following someone who is in such an intoxicated state, they are marching toward their own destruction," he added.