Rahul Gandhi's derogatory comment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi shows the true character of Congress, Union minister Anurag Thakur said on Thursday.
Anurag Thakur was referring to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's poll speech in Rajasthan where he used the "panauti" remark against the prime minister for attending the World Cup final that India lost to Australia after 10 consecutive wins in the tournament.
The "panauti" barb loosely refers to someone who brings bad luck.
Interacting with media persons here, Thakur demanded that Gandhi and the party apologise to Modi and the nation.
He hit out at the Congress, saying in 1982, when the then prime minister Indira Gandhi had gone to watch a hockey match, five goals were scored against India.
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"Indira Gandhi left the field and ran away. She was the leader who ran away, but Modi is a leader who boosts the morale of the players. He met the players and encouraged them. The Indian cricket team has performed excellently, but Congress is doing politics on this too,” the Union Information cum Broadcasting Minister added.
The BJP leader said the Congress has worked to divide people based on caste, religion and community and made every effort to "grab power like the Britishers".
Speaking about the elections in poll-bound states, Thakur said people would definitely support the BJP as they want to get freedom from the false claims of Congress.
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The Congress has failed to fulfil its poll guarantees in states led by them, he added.
Meanwhile, after being approached by the BJP, the Election Commission (EC) issued a show-cause notice to Gandhi on Thursday for his "panauti", "pickpocket" and "loan waiver for the super rich" jibes at the prime minister, and asked him to respond by Saturday.
-With PTI input
