Devotion to Rahul overriding Cong's devotion to country: BJP

Devotion to Rahul Gandhi is overriding Congress's devotion to the country, BJP today said, targeting it over its reference to a now-closed criminal case involving the party's chief Amit Shah and accusing it of stooping to a low to defend its vice president.
The party also played TV interviews of former army chief Gen Bikram Singh and former DGMO Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia to support its claim that surgical strikes like the one carried out by the army recently were never done earlier as Congress had claimed that these happened during the UPA rule as well.
It fielded Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to launch a counterattack on the Congress and he raked up National Herald case in which its president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are accused, noting that both are on bail in the "case of cheating".

Congress leader and former Union minister Kapil Sibal's attack on Shah was "shameful, regrettable and full of venom", he said, claiming that the more leaders like Sibal and Digvijay Singh speak the more votes BJP gets.
"We had hoped that Congress will correct itself after falling to 44 seats (in 2014 Lok Sabha polls)... It's good. They should make Sibal talk more more so that Congress could fall to 24 seats.
"Devotion to Rahul Gandhi is overriding devotion to the country for Congress. Otherwise, a party that has ruled the country for over 50 years would not have held such a press conference. Defending Rahul Gandhi is more important that defending country for it," he said.

Earlier, Sibal had hit out at Shah, saying "Now will leaders who have spent time in jails and are murder-accused tell us that our foundations are faulty and are questioning Rahul Gandhi's lineage."

Shah was an accused in a fake encounter case and was later discharged by the court.
The court had termed the case against him "a frame-up due to conspiracy", Prasad said. BJP had then blamed the UPA government for fixing Shah in the case for political reasons.
"What is this arrogance that our president is being called a criminal? The case was lodged due to prejudice and even charges were not framed by court which said it was a frame-up due to conspiracy," he said.

Taking exception to Congress' charge that Pakistan-based terrorist outfit JeM was a product of BJP, Prasad said Pakistan spy agency ISI will be most happy with these comments which have provided JeM a big handle.
"We had never thought that the Congress will fall to such a low to defend its leader," he said claiming he had credible information that Congress leaders too are upset over Rahul's comments.
The top brass of the saffron party had decided that its leaders will not do any "thumping" over the strikes.