New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS): BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said on Monday that Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, can only entertain the public, but not serve them. The controversy erupted after a comedian Pulkit Mani allegedly mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi while sharing the stage with LoP Gandhi during an Indore event on September 19.
Pulkit Mani’s performance featured mimicry of Prime Minister Modi’s mannerisms and public appearances in which he imitated the PM’s characteristic laugh, hand gestures and the way he greets and embraces people. The act took place during the student-focussed event addressed by LoP Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh.
The performance quickly became a subject of political commentary, with the BJP targeting the Congress over the stage act and LoP Gandhi’s reaction to it.
Speaking to IANS, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal fervently criticised LoP Gandhi for the events that took place during the recent ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ programme in Indore and said, “Rahul Gandhi should have thought about whether this was appropriate. Rahul Gandhi should have taken that decision, but unfortunately, he failed to do so.”
He further alleged, “Along with the comedian, he established himself in the country as a comedian who can only entertain people but cannot wipe their tears.”
Apart from Khandelwal, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Jammu Kashmir Assembly LoP Sunil Sharma also reacted on the matter.
Naqvi rhetorically asked, “Till how long will you keep on enjoying your comedy? When does the fun end? How long will you keep trying your luck through this kind of comedy and parody?”
“This comedy and parody competition is destroying the Congress’ standing; it is completely ruining it. Yet, every day you stand up with a new mimicry artiste and keep clowning around,” Naqvi continued.
He called the latest controversy the peak of the Congress’ obsession with bad-mouthing PM Modi. “Certainly, they don’t realise that by committing such nonsense and nuisance, the Congress is losing whatever little political ground and respect it has left,” he concluded.
In Srinagar, Sunil Sharma called LoP Gandhi’s tactics “a degraded level of politics.” He said, “I feel that using this kind of language in politics is either out of frustration or you could say they are trying to drag politics in a completely new direction.”
