BJP leaders demanded an apology after Rahul Gandhi called Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the RSS traitors during a May 20 address in Rae Bareli. The Congress leader's remarks prompted responses from BJP president Nitin Nabin, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several national party figures.
NDTV reported that Nabin described Gandhi's language as divisive and said it reflected frustration over electoral defeats. Adityanath called the remarks an insult to the public mandate and demanded a public apology. Union minister Giriraj Singh also criticised the language and disputed Gandhi's assessment of the economy.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari went further, comparing Gandhi's words with rhetoric used by Pakistan and Pakistan-supported terrorists. That was Bhandari's political accusation, not evidence of any connection between Gandhi and such groups. Anurag Thakur invoked the Emergency in his response and accused Congress of attacking constitutional institutions.
Gandhi's speech, reported separately by The Indian Express, was delivered at the Bahujan Swabhiman Sammelan during his visit to Rae Bareli and Amethi. Holding a copy of the Constitution, he invoked B R Ambedkar, Veera Pasi, Mahatma Gandhi, Guru Nanak, Kabir and Narayan Guru, presenting the document as the expression of their struggles for equality.
He alleged that the BJP and RSS had weakened reservation, public-sector employment and independent institutions. He also accused the government of concentrating economic power among selected industrialists and repeated his warning of severe inflation and fuel pressures linked to the international situation. These were claims made in the speech, not independently established conclusions about the named parties or businesses.
The confrontation therefore combined a dispute over Gandhi's choice of words with the substantive issues he raised about social justice and the economy. BJP responses centred on democratic legitimacy, national reputation and Congress's own record, while Gandhi framed his criticism around the protection of constitutional guarantees and opportunities for marginalised communities.
