‘Who laughs when India is insulted?’:Rijiju questions Rahul Gandhi’s reaction after Italian leader’s ‘vote chor’ remark at summit

A political controversy has erupted after Italian leader Giacomo Filibeck raised the Congress slogan, ‘Vote thief, leave your seat’, at the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad on Saturday. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media, showing Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi clapping as Filibeck raises the slogan. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju took a dig at Gandhi without naming him, questioning who laughs when a foreigner insults India. Filibeck is the secretary-general of the European Socialist Party (PES). During his address, he praised Gandhi and supported his campaign against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. He said Gandhi had defended the principle of ‘one person, one vote’. BJP leaders question Congress’s choice of foreign delegates Sudhanshu Trivedi questions Congress’s agenda BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi questioned why Congress had invited people allegedly linked to George Soros-backed ‘Open Society’ networks and Amnesty International to its political platform. He referred to former Ecuadorian minister Guillermo Long and former Amnesty International secretary-general Salil Shetty, alleging that they had previously made controversial remarks about Kashmir and India’s democratic institutions. Trivedi demanded that Congress explain the agenda behind inviting such individuals. CR Kesavan questions foreign delegates’ backgrounds BJP leader CR Kesavan, in a post on X on Sunday, alleged that Rahul Gandhi and his associates had made insulting remarks about India and its democracy at the Congress-sponsored India Summit. He also raised questions about the credibility of some foreign delegates who attended the event. Bandi Sanjay Kumar invokes the Emergency Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar accused Rahul Gandhi of insulting India by discussing the country’s internal political issues in front of foreign delegates. He also countered Gandhi’s allegation that 14 crore votes had been removed from electoral rolls. Kumar said the removal of names of deceased voters, duplicate entries and people who had permanently shifted elsewhere was necessary to maintain accurate voter lists. Rahul Gandhi says, ‘We are fighting for the future’ Rahul Gandhi also addressed the gathering at the summit, held at the Novotel Hotel in Hyderabad. He described the recent election as unprecedented, saying, “We have seen a completely new election. Something that we have never seen before.” He alleged that a huge amount of money had been pumped into the political system, changing the electoral landscape. Gandhi said elections that had traditionally witnessed close contests and coalition governments had suddenly changed, adding that the Opposition was left in shock. He further said, “We are not fighting only for the present. We are fighting for the present, the past and the future.” Referring to Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress leader said India’s history began with him and that the country had two weapons: truth and non-violence. “We have seen that violence does not work. Compassion works. Convincing people works,” he said.