New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday intensified its attack on Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of disrupting Parliament to avoid a comparison between the Narendra Modi government’s performance and that of the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) administration.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia described Rahul Gandhi as an “immature” and “part-time” Leader of the Opposition, alleging that he was deliberately preventing Parliament from functioning because he feared facing the government’s record during debates.
According to Bhatia, the Congress leader is reluctant to participate in substantive discussions in the House, claiming that comparisons between the NDA government’s achievements and the UPA’s tenure would politically expose the Congress.
The BJP leader also strongly objected to Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), calling them baseless and unsupported by evidence. He alleged that Gandhi repeatedly criticises the RSS despite failing to substantiate his claims.
The sharp response came a day after Rahul Gandhi, while speaking at the launch of a book authored by former MP Vaiko, said students across the country were facing serious challenges and deserved an apology rather than forgiveness from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the government’s handling of issues affecting them.
During his address, Gandhi alleged that attempts were being made to rewrite India’s history and asserted that every state has the right to preserve and promote its own language, culture and historical identity. He claimed that students were protesting against these developments and opposed what he described as efforts to impose a single historical narrative.
Responding to those remarks, Bhatia accused the Congress leader of displaying “double standards” on issues related to examination reforms and paper leak cases. He questioned Gandhi’s silence over alleged examination irregularities in several opposition-ruled states, including Jharkhand, Karnataka and Kerala, while criticising the Centre on similar issues.
The BJP spokesperson further alleged that Rahul Gandhi often raises accusations inside Parliament without presenting supporting evidence and claimed that he has been unable to defend those assertions whenever challenged during House proceedings.
Commenting on the ongoing disruptions in Parliament, Bhatia said the Opposition leader should actively participate in debates rather than resorting to protests. He maintained that senior ministers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah, have consistently presented factual arguments during parliamentary discussions.
Highlighting the Centre’s record on extradition, Bhatia said that 274 fugitives had been brought back to India from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026. He contrasted this with the UPA government’s record, claiming that the number of extraditions during its tenure was significantly lower.
The BJP also marked the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, describing August 5 as a landmark date in India’s constitutional history. Bhatia credited Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the decision, calling it a transformative step for Jammu and Kashmir.
The exchange has added to the ongoing political confrontation between the BJP and the Congress, with both parties continuing to spar over Parliament’s functioning, governance, education policies and ideological issues.