Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday hit out at Congress leader Digvijaya Singh over his tweet thanking Germany for taking note of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
“Disgrace to nation, @INCIndia & @RahulGandhi don’t believe to fight India’s democratic, political & 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”, Thakur tweeted.
A spokesperson for the German foreign ministry had said that the European nation ‘expects standards of judicial independence & democratic principles to apply’. Digvijaya Singh had tweeted,”Thank you Germany Foreign Affairs Ministry and Richard Walker @rbsw for taking note of how the Democracy is being compromised in India through persecution of @RahulGandhi”.
Singh’s tweet triggered a massive political controversy with the BJP accusing the Congress of seeking foreign intervention into India’s internal matters. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted,”Apparent that @INCIndia wants foreign interference in our affairs. Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Communist Party of China with opaque contents. During interactions abroad, plead for help to change government. Thank them when help forthcoming. Any more proof needed?”
Union law minister Kiren Rijiju hit out at the grand old party. “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”, he tweeted.
Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after being convicted in a defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark. The Congress has cried foul over the disqualification, calling it vendetta against the former party chief.
On Tuesday, the United States had said it is watching Gandhi’s case in the Indian courts. “We are watching Mr Gandhi’s case in Indian courts and engage with the government of India on our shared commitment to democratic values including of course, freedom of expression. In our engagements with our Indian partners, we continue to highlight the importance of democratic principles and the protection of human rights and freedom of expression as key to strengthening both our democracies”, Vedant Patel, US Department of State’s principal deputy spokesperson, said.