Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and grandson of former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao – NV Subhash – on Monday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that he has “little” respect for non-Gandhi party leaders while referring to his grandfather. Speaking of Rahul’s visit to the memorials of former prime ministers, he alleged that the Congress MP addressed a rally near Indira Gandhi’s statue in Hyderabad but “deliberately” left without paying tribute to Narasimha Rao. “Visiting of memorials of former Prime Ministers in Delhi by Rahul Gandhi clearly shows that the party has little respect for non-Gandhi veteran leaders who sacrificed their lives for the country and for strengthening the party. During the course of Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi visited the memorials and paid tribute to former PMs including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and even Atal Bihari Vajpayee but didn’t pay tribute to non-Gandhi PM PV Narasimha Rao,” NV Subhash told news agency ANI.
Also see: Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to former PMs, Mahatma Gandhi
Stressing that the Congress “history is a testimony that the party never recognized the services of a leader not belonging to the Gandhi family”, he further said: “The party did not even give a respectful farewell to PV Narasimha Rao after his death. Had PV Narasimha Rao not become Prime Minister in 1991, the party would have struggled for existence.”
The BJP leader also took a dig at the Bharat Jodo Yatra – the Congress’s Kanyakumari to Kashmir mass contact programme – by calling it a “futile walking exercise”.
Other BJP leaders have also slammed Rahul Gandhi for not visiting Narasimha Rao’s samadhi in Hyderabad. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya said that Gandhi would have visited the samadhi in Hyderabad during the Bharat Jodo Yatra if he was “sincere about paying respect to former prime ministers.” On Monday, Rahul Gandhi visited the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and several former prime ministers in New Delhi. He visited Veer Bhumi, Shakti Sthal, and Shanti Van – the memorials of former prime ministers Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru.
(With ANI inputs)
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