New Delhi, February 24 The BJP on Tuesday alleged that Rahul Gandhi was the "mastermind" behind the Congress's youth wing's "naked protest" at the AI Impact Summit last week and asserted that the long arm of the law will soon reach the "rogue" individual who organized the "anarchic incident" to defame India from behind the scenes.
This came after a Delhi court sent the president of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), Uday Bhanu Chib, to a four-day police custody in connection with the "shirtless protest" at the AI Impact Summit venue.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, the party's national spokesperson, Gaurav Bhatia, alleged that the Congress youth wing had staged the protest at the Summit at the behest of Gandhi.
"Rahul Gandhi is the mastermind, rather a super mastermind, of such an anarchic incident. The naked protest held by the president of the Congress youth wing and others at the behest of Rahul Gandhi tarnished the image of India," he said.
"There is not much difference between Rahul Gandhi and those who are 'rogue, hooligans, and ruffians'," the BJP leader added.
Bhatia said Gandhi might have been thinking that he was above the law, but the "long arm of the law will soon reach the person who tried to defame the country, no matter who he is".
"In police custody, Uday will tell the truth and reveal the names. We will also be waiting to find out where the connection lies. It will be made public, and the entire country will know," he said.
Hitting out at Gandhi, BJP MP Anurag Thakur alleged that the Congress leader is making a concerted effort to incite violence and anarchy in the country by spreading falsehoods.
"Rahul Gandhi has become a spokesperson for anti-national forces. He promotes an anti-India agenda, promotes negative politics, and attempts to spread anarchy," the former Union minister said.
"His only job is to lie, sow fear and confusion, defame India, abuse Prime Minister Modi, engage in anti-national politics, and discredit the country's progress globally," Thakur told reporters in Himachal Pradesh.
The BJP leader also demanded that Gandhi apologize to the country for the "shameless and shirtless" protest staged by the Youth Congress workers at the AI summit.
Last Friday, a group of Congress youth wing workers staged a dramatic shirtless protest at an exhibition hall during the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam, walking around holding T-shirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal printed on them, before being whisked away by security personnel present at the venue.
The Delhi Police has arrested eight IYC workers, including Chib, in connection with the incident so far.