Jaipur, February 16 Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi on Monday alleged that the BJP lacks the courage to face his party in Parliament, apparently referring to the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Lok Sabha.
"Those who dream of a Congress-free India do not have the courage to come to Parliament and face the Congress," he said while addressing the party's Paigam-e-Mohabbat programme in Jaipur.
Pratapgarhi termed the India-US deal a result of a "conspiracy" against farmers and small traders, and said its consequences would soon become apparent.
He said the country was going through a difficult phase, and that Rahul Gandhi represented a ray of hope.
"We are the salesmen of Rahul's 'Shop of Love'. Salesmen of hatred are roaming across the country. If a leader is strong, he sets an example. While there may be a lot of hatred, love ultimately prevails," he said at the event organized by the party's minority department.
"Rahul Gandhi is changing the course of events during this difficult time," said Pratapgarhi, chairman of the AICC Minority Department.
He said that lakhs of people stood with Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
"Rahul Gandhi has walked against hatred, but BJP leaders could not even walk four kilometers against hatred," he said.
Congress Rajasthan president Govind Singh Dotasra said the party would strongly challenge the BJP government in the state.
Targeting BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya, he said that he sometimes has problems with loudspeakers, sometimes with carts, and sometimes with the poor.
"An MLA's job is to ensure communal harmony in their constituency, focus on development, and raise public welfare issues before the government. There is no need to pay attention to such people," he said.
He said that whether it was the UPA government or the previous Congress government in the state, they did so much work that the BJP cannot even compete with them.
"Modi became prime minister by misleading the country. He won the first Lok Sabha election by lying, fought the second hiding behind the army, and won the third by 'stealing votes'. A person who cannot win elections on his own strength or present his policies seeks accountability from the Congress for 70 years but cannot account for his own 10 years. They will have to be exposed to the public," he said.