‘This is 2019 Election’: Cong Reminds PM After Rajiv Gandhi Barbs

“It’s almost as if he’s fighting the 1989 election & Rajiv Gandhi is his principal rival!” Omar Abdullah tweeted.

(Photo: PTI/Twitter/Altered by The Quint)

Social media was abuzz after Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again attacked Rajiv Gandhi on Wednesday, 8 May, as he accused the Gandhi family of using warship INS Viraat as its "personal taxi" when the latter was the prime minister.

At a rally in Delhi, Modi alleged that the Congress insulted the warship by using it for vacations of Gandhi family. Attaching an India Today article from 1988, Modi also took to Twitter to slam the Gandhis, saying, "Ever imagined that a premier warship of the Indian armed forces could be used as a taxi for a personal holiday? One Dynasty did it and that too with great swag."

Soon after Modi's allegations, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also tweeted in concurrence, saying:

In a press conference on Thursday, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman too joined the debate on the Rajiv Gandhi, as she was quoted as saying, "We all know Rajiv Gandhi was our PM. We respect him... But this does not mean we cannot talk about the corruption during his governance, about the misrule during his governance, about Bhopal."

Meanwhile, in a rally in Haryana's Sirsa, Rahul Gandhi, while attacking PM Modi, said:

“If you want to talk about Rajiv Gandhi or me, you definitely do it. As much as you want. But make the public understand what you did and did not do in the Rafale issue. You also make the public understand that the promise you made about providing employment to 2 crore youth, you have not fulfilled that.”

Rahul Gandhi

'Almost As If He’s Fighting 1989 Elections’

A day after Modi's comments, the Congress responded on Twitter, reminding him that "this is the 2019 election, not 1951, not 1966 and not 1984."

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also sarcastically wondered whether Modi is fighting the 1989 general elections, with Rajiv Gandhi as his principal rival.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel alleged that the "BJP backed VP Singh government refused to provide him (Rajiv Gandhi) with additional security" and he "lost his his life due to their hatred".

"Abusing a martyred Prime Minister is the sign of ultimate cowardice," Patel added on Twitter.

Others, including Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha, also condemned Modi’s attacks on Rajiv Gandhi.

Some Slam Congress

Meanwhile, some slammed the Congress and the Gandhi family after the PM raked up the INS Viraat issue.