A few people, reportedly from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), showed black flags to Congress MP and Lok Sabha’s Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Mumbai, Maharashtra, on Saturday.
The BJP workers staged a black-flag protest against Rahul Gandhi when he was en route to Thane. They said the demonstration was held in response to the Youth Congress’s protest at the AI ​​Summit, news agency PTI reported.
A video of the incident, shared on X, shows two people holding flags and running as Rahul Gandhi’s car passed by.
Gandhi landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Saturday morning and traveled by road to Bhiwandi in neighboring Thane district to appear before a court in the 2014 defamation case.
A group of BJP supporters staged a protest at Mulund toll naka and raised slogans against him.
Why were BJP workers protesting?
Protesters alleged that Rahul Gandhi consistently opposes the initiatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They accused him of tarnishing the country’s image.
A supporter told PTI that the Youth Congress workers raised slogans at the AI ​​Summit, “maligning India’s image.”
“Rahul Gandhi continuously opposes whatever the Prime Minister does. Even on issues concerning the nation. The Youth Congress workers raised slogans at the AI ​​Summit, maligning India’s image. That is why we protested against him,” a BJP supporter said.
Earlier, members of the Indian Youth Congress staged a protest at the Bharat Mandapam venue of the Al Impact India Summit in Delhi by removing their shirts with slogans that read, “Compromised PM”.
In a statement, the Indian Youth Congress said its workers were protesting against a “compromised Prime Minister who has traded the identity of the country at the Al Summit”.
Delhi police booked protesters from the Indian Youth Congress who raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the AI ​​summit.
They were booked under provisions including “voluntarily obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his duty and other sections related to defying lawful public order, noting that these sections are non-bailable,” sources told. PTI.
Police had made elaborate security arrangements for Gandhi’s visit to prevent any confrontation between workers of the ruling and Opposition parties.
Opposition reacts: ‘Fundamentally wrong’
Meanwhile, Congress leader Sachin Sawant termed the BJP protest as “an attempt to divert attention from key national issues”.
Sawant accused the ruling party of resorting to theatricals as it had no answers for the public.
He questioned the reasons behind what he termed the BJP’s “surrender” before US President Donald Trump and sought clarity on matters related to financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying the party owed an explanation to the people.
Sawant also alleged that the BJP had compromised the future of farmers in Maharashtra and the country by placing their interests at stake in the trade deal with the US.
Besides, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) hit out at the ‘black flag’ protest, calling it a “disrespectful” departure from democratic norms.
The party’s Thane city chief, Manoj Pradhan, was quoted by PTI as saying, “Rahul Gandhi holds a constitutional post as the Leader of the Opposition in the country’s highest house. It is fundamentally wrong to show black flags to him in such a manner. This is not how a democracy should function.”
“Gandhi raises the issues of common Indians; he is a patriot through and through,” he said.
