Several people, allegedly from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), showed black flags to Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in Mumbai, Maharashtra on Saturday.
BJP workers staged a black flag protest against Rahul Gandhi when he was on his way to Thane. They said the demonstration was held in response to the Youth Congress protest at the AI summit, news agency PTI reported.
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A video of the incident shared on X shows two people holding flags and running as Rahul Gandhi’s car passes 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 in court in the 2014 defamation case.
A group of BJP supporters staged a protest at Mulund toll naka and raised slogans against it.
Why did the BJP workers protest?
The protesters alleged that Rahul Gandhi has consistently opposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives. They accused him of tarnishing the image of the country.
One of the supporters told PTI that the Youth Congress workers raised slogans at the AI summit that were “damaging India’s image”.
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“Rahul Gandhi has always opposed everything the Prime Minister does. Even on issues concerning the nation. Youth Congress workers raised slogans at the AI summit that tarnished the image of India. That’s why we protested against him,” said a BJP supporter.
Indian Youth Congress members staged a protest at Delhi’s Al Impact India Summit venue at the Bharat Mandapam by taking off their shirts with slogans reading ‘Compromised PM’.
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In a statement, the Indian Youth Congress said its workers were protesting against a “compromised prime minister who swapped the country’s identity at the Al summit”.
Delhi Police has booked Indian Youth Congress protesters who raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the AI summit.
They were booked under provisions including “willfully obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his duties and other sections related to breach of law and order, noting that these sections are non-bailable,” sources told PTI.
The police made elaborate security arrangements for Gandhi’s visit to prevent any confrontation between the ruling and opposition party workers.
The opposition reacts: “Fundamentally wrong”
Meanwhile, Congress leader Sachin Sawant called the BJP’s protest an “attempt to divert attention from key national issues”.
Sawant accused the ruling party of resorting to theatrics as it had no answers for the public.
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He questioned the reasons for what he termed the BJP’s “capitulation” to US President Donald Trump and sought to clarify matters related to financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying the party owed the people an explanation.
Sawant also alleged that the BJP has threatened the future of farmers in Maharashtra and the country by compromising their interests in the trade deal with the US.
In addition, the nationalist Congress Party (SP) protested against the “black flag”, calling it a “disrespectful” departure from democratic norms.
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Thane city chief Manoj Pradhan was quoted by PTI as saying, “Rahul Gandhi holds the constitutional office of Leader of the Opposition in the country’s upper house. It is fundamentally wrong to show him black flags in such a way. This is not how democracy should work.”
“Gandhi raises the problems of ordinary Indians; he is a patriot through and through,” he said.