BJP alleges Rahul Gandhi acted like 'Urban Naxal', orchestrated AI Summit protest 

New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a blistering attack on the Congress over the AI Summit protest, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, on Sunday, accused the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of "defaming India on the global stage" and claimed the demonstration exposed the deepening crisis within the Congress. 

Union Minister Giriraj Singh said the protest by Congress at the recent India AI Summit had tarnished the country's image globally and accused Rahul Gandhi of orchestrating the act.

He alleged that the Congress protest was orchestrated at Rahul Gandhi's behest and had backfired by isolating the grand old party nationally and internationally.

"Should I call him (Rahul Gandhi) an 'abodh balak', an urban Naxal, or a frustrated person? He defamed India, and the people will never forgive him because whatever happened was on his instructions," Union Minister Singh said.

He added that the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition was "not acting like the Leader of the Opposition".

Echoing similar sentiments, Bihar Minister and veteran BJP leader Dilip Kumar Jaiswal claimed that the controversy had damaged the Congress rather than the nation.

"India hasn't been defamed -- it is Congress that has been defamed across the world," he said, adding that the Congress had become "leaderless" and was steadily losing its grassroots base.

He also alleged that even students and youth associated with the Congress were feeling embarrassed.

The remarks came hours after PM Modi, addressing a public gathering in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut, criticised the Congress over its youth wing's 'shirtless protest' at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi during the AI Summit.

The Prime Minister described the demonstration as evidence that the "oldest party of the country has become ideologically bankrupt" and accused it of turning a global event into a platform for domestic politics.

PM Modi also thanked allies within the INDIA bloc for criticising the Congress protest, saying it was reassuring that other opposition parties had distanced themselves from the incident.

The protest by Youth Congress members had raised slogans over issues such as unemployment, inflation, and the reported India-US trade deal, triggering a political storm and sharp exchanges between the BJP-led Union government and the Opposition.