Are Pakistanis, Bangladeshis & not Indians attending Rahul Gandhi’s US events? BJP leader’s tweet triggers row

India’s ruling saffron party has been targeting the 52-year-old Rahul Gandhi over his critical takes on prime minister Narendra Modi abroad.

• Shubham
• 01 June, 2023

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By: Shubham Ghosh

Whenever Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visits abroad and criticises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of prime minister Narendra Modi, the saffron party in India lashes out at him and accuses him of insulting the country on foreign soil.

Gandhi’s ongoing tour of the US which started earlier this week has been no exception.

On Wednesday (31), Gandhi spoke at an even in San Francisco in California and Amit Malviya, in-charge of the BJP’s national information & technology department, criticised and mocked the Congress leader’s event alleging that whatever small number of people who were attending the latter’s event were not actually Indians as they did not care to stand up when the country’s national anthem was played.

Rahul Gandhi US visit ‘being controlled by certain minority group’? Indian Overseas Congress trashes claim

He accused the Congress of chicanery.

In a tweet along with a video showing an event, Malviya wrote, “I don’t know of any Indian in the Bay Area, who wouldn’t stand up for the National Anthem, unless Rahul Gandhi is addressing Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in America, and passing them off as Indians… But then the Congress is capable of any chicanery. Empty hall is another story.”

India Weekly could not verify whether the video posted on Twitter was from an event during Gandhi’s current visit to the US.

I don’t know of any Indian in the Bay Area, who wouldn’t stand up for the National Anthem, unless Rahul Gandhi is addressing Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in America, and passing them off as Indians…

But then the Congress is capable of any chicanery. Empty hall is another story. pic.twitter.com/dzmGdDeDuh

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) June 1, 2023

The BJP leader faced a backlash from netizens over his tweet with one even asking where is Gandhi in the video.

But where ia Rahul Gandhi here.. sahi se kaam kar yaar, salary se kat jayega ?

— tamsil (@tamsil) June 1, 2023

How many Indians do you know in the Bay Area??

— Puneet Mathur (@puneetmathur) June 1, 2023

Didn’t you tweet about this every hour all of yesterday? No fresh content kya?

— Stanley Castelino (@Stanmanplan) June 1, 2023

Gandhi, who reached the US on Tuesday (30) for a three-city tour, on Wednesday spent the first half of his day with startup entrepreneurs from the Silicon Valley who are known for doing path-breaking work in artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies.