'Unfortunate for India to have an anarchic individual as LoP': BJP tears into Rahul Gandhi over anti-CEC protests

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday hit out at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, saying that India is "unfortunate" to have an "anarchic individual as the LoP" after the Supreme Court issued a notice seeking response in connection with the protest and sloganeering on its premises on October 12.

Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused the Congress of disrespecting the Constitution, the judiciary and the dignity of women police personnel.

"Everyone knows the kind of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is. The people of the country also believe that it is unfortunate for India to have such an anarchic, immature, irresponsible individual, who is ignorant of the Constitution, serving as the Leader of the Opposition," he remarked.

Maintaining that the Constitution grants citizens the fundamental right to protest, Gaurav Bhatia asked: "However, does the right to protest extend beyond its constitutional limits and become a license for hooliganism and sloganeering, whether on public roads, public spaces, or within the premises of the Supreme Court itself?"

Referring to the INDIA bloc's protest march on October 12, the BJP spokesperson said: "Attempting to turn the sacred premises of the Supreme Court, the temple of justice, into a protest site and using mob pressure to intimidate the Judiciary is something only an anarchic and irresponsible person like Rahul Gandhi could do."

He noted that the Supreme Court has issued a notice to Congress, Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders on a petition against march towards the apex court and a now-deleted X post against Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.

Referring to the recent deleted social media post by the Kerala Congress, the BJP leader said: "Such threats and such a mindset have emerged at the behest of Rahul Gandhi. Once the social media post gained widespread attention, the Congress party, true to its habit of causing damage first and then running away from responsibility, deleted the post."

Gaurav Bhatia referred to the SC's notice over "misconduct" and "indecent behaviour" towards women police personnel during the protests, saying: "Whenever the Congress talks about patriarchy, those claiming to be concerned about the dignity of women must answer whether Rahul Gandhi also has the right to violate the dignity of a woman police officer by touching her inappropriately?"

Accusing the Congress of adopting "double standards", the BJP spokesperson said: "On the one hand, it worships women in the form of goddesses during Navratri, while on the other hand, it plays with the dignity of women and allows uniformed women personnel to be touched inappropriately. Such conduct can only come from an irresponsible Leader of the Opposition, known merely by his surname, Rahul Gandhi, and his anti-Constitution party."

Underlining that preventing any police officer, whether male or female, from discharging their official duty is an offence under the penal laws of our country, Gaurav Bhatia said: "This is not just Rahul Gandhi's problem; it reflects a mindset that believes, 'We are the Gandhi family and therefore we are above the law.' Concern for women's dignity arises only when the women belong to the Gandhi family."

He claimed that the visuals clearly show Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hitting, elbowing, and pushing a woman police officer.

"Thereafter, she (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) retreats into her Z-plus security cover and escapes accountability," he remarked.

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