Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday condemned party leader Sandeep Dikshit’s remarks on the Army Chief and said that he should not have made the statement. “The comments were wrong. The Indian Army protects the country and a politician should not comment about the chief,” he said in Bengaluru.
Dikshit had found himself in the middle of a controversy on Sunday after he called Army Chief Bipin Rawat a “sadak ka gunda (roadside thug)”.
“It feels when our Army chief speaks, he speaks like a roadside thug. While this is expected from Pakistan, who are like the mafia, why does our own chief make such pronouncements?” he said.
BJP Demands Dikshit’s Expulsion
The Bharatiya Janata Party condemned Dikshit’s remarks and asserted that hurtful statements like these will be ‘democratically rejected’.
BJP leader Sambit Patra, while demanding an apology from party President Sonia Gandhi, said such leaders should be expelled immediately. “First, it was Rahul Gandhi who spoke of ‘khoon ki dalali’. Following him was Sanjay Nirupam, who demanded proof post the surgical strike carried out by the Army. In the latest to join this bandwagon is Sandeep Dikshit with his hurtful and appalling statement. Sonia Gandhi should expel such leaders and apologise for the act,” Patra said.
BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao came down heavily on the Congress’ ‘track two politics’, claiming that this ‘indecent’ comment was a pre-planned move by the ‘Rahul Gandhi brigade’.
BJP leader Kiren Rijiju and spokesperson Sambit Patra also called out Dikshit on Twitter.
Following the criticism, Dikshit withdrew his statement. “I genuinely believe what I said was wrong. I apologise for it and withdraw my statement,” he said.
Dikshit’s comment came a few days after scholar Partha Chatterjee faced ire over his article in The Wire, which drew comparisons between General Dyer in Punjab and the Indian Army in Kashmir.
The Twittersphere was flooded with criticism for Dikshit.
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