BJP National President JP Nadda on Thursday accused Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of having a “history” of disrespecting both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the OBC community.

In a letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Nadda slammed Kharge’s attempt to defend Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling it an effort to “polish a failed product”.

The BJP National President has written the letter to Kharge in response to a letter the Congress President had earlier addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Nadda highlighted Rahul Gandhi’s controversial statements, including calling the Prime Minister a “thief” and using other inappropriate language.

The BJP National President questioned Kharge’s defence of Rahul Gandhi, asking, “Due to what compulsion are you trying to justify Rahul Gandhi?”

He also mentioned past remarks made by other Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, who had referred to Modi as a “merchant of death.” Nadda criticised Congress for glorifying such statements and asked, “Why did the Congress forget about political purity then?” He further accused the party of ignoring political standards while claiming to uphold political dignity.

Nadda claimed that the Congress has now become a “copy and paste” party under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, alleging that the party has adopted “evil ways” under pressure from its “famous prince”. He stated that Congress leaders have insulted Prime Minister Modi over 110 times in the last decade and listed derogatory terms allegedly used by them.

The BJP National President also condemned Rahul Gandhi for allegedly supporting anti-national forces, dividing communities, and making controversial statements on issues like Jammu and Kashmir. He questioned, “Is the Congress party proud of Rahul Gandhi because he hugs Pakistan-loving anti-India people, supports terrorists, seeks foreign intervention in India’s democracy, instigates caste and reservation politics, or insults Hindu Sanatan culture?”

Nadda further accused Congress leaders, from Sam Pitroda to Imran Masood, K Suresh to Digvijay Singh, Shashi Tharoor to P Chidambaram, of attempting to defame the country. He claimed that the Congress is inciting divisions within the country and glorifying anti-national forces, asking why Kharge does not address these issues.

The BJP National President concluded by accusing Congress of damaging Indian democracy through actions such as imposing emergency rule, supporting triple talaq, and weakening constitutional institutions. He said that the Congress’s “Mohabbat ki Dukaan” is in reality promoting “casteism” and “anti-nationalism.”

Hitting back at the BJP National President for criticising Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leader K C Venugopal said in a post on X, “BJP President JP Nadda’s reply to INC President Sh. @kharge ji smacks of arrogance and clearly shows that since the PM could not even get himself to respond on this very serious issue, the attacks on Rahul ji have his full support. The BJP is single-handedly responsible for the plummeting standard of political discourse in India.”