Rahul Gandhi's Hamburg speech : Country's image tarnished, we want explanation, says BJP

The reaction came a day after Gandhi, while addressing a gathering at the Bucerius Summer School in Hamburg in Germany on Wednesday,had said the BJP Government has excluded tribals, Dalits and minorities from the development narrative and "this could be a dangerous thing". Citing the example of Islamic State (ISIS), he said that exclusion of a large number of people from the development process could lead to the creation of insurgent groups anywhere in the world.

"It is very dangerous in the 21st century to exclude people. If you don't give people a vision in the 21st century, somebody else will. And that's the real risk of excluding a large number of people from the development process," Rahul Gandhi said.

He also linked the incidents of lynching in India to joblessness and the lack of opportunities for the poor who, he said, were not being given equal opportunities.

However, addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, BJP spokesman Sambit Patra demanded an explanation from Rahul Gandhi.

In a rebuff, Patra said at a press conference in New Delhi, "Rahul Gandhi does not leave any moment to insult India. We forgive you usually, but what you spoke yesterday can have dangerous implications, so we want you to explain this time."

Patra also said that Rahul's speech had a dangerous undertone and he must explain his remarks.

"Mr Gandhi, for this comment, we can't forgive you," said Patra.

He also attacked Navjot Singh Sidhu who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and garnered controversy over embracing Pakistan army chief. "Sidhu cares about Pakistan, you care about China, does anyone even care about Hindustan?" he asked, while terming Rahul's entire speech a lie.

Earlier, Patra also tweeted : "Horrified to hear Congress President RahulG justifying the formation of ISIS in Syria ..and giving out a veiled threat that if Modiji doesn’t “give vision” to India then soon someone else(ISIS) would give the vision..Unbelievable ..He’s a PM aspirant??

Patra also spoke about Rahul's comment on women's safety in India. The Congress president in his speech had stated that Indian men do not view the women in the country as equal and they should change their outlook towards women.

"I think it is a cultural issue, it is an issue of how Indian men view Indian women and I think it requires a huge amount of work to fix that problem," he said. Patra attacked Rahul for insulting India's culture.

Patra said, “How can Rahul point fingers at the great Indian culture when his mother, Sonia Gandhi, is at top of Indian politics because of the great Indian culture?”

Joining Patra, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: "I do not understand the logic behind Rahul Gandhi's threat. This is a country that has rejected the idea of ISIS and earlier the idea of al-Qaeda as well..."

"I do not understand the meaning of this threat - if you do not do this, that will happen. In fact, he or the Congress party should not say anything that will encourage such forces," Naqvi tweeted.