Rahul Gandhi’s talk of “atom bombs” and “hydrogen bombs” in politics drew a sharp retort from the BJP on Monday, which accused the Congress leader of undermining his constitutional role as Leader of Opposition and insulting the electorate with reckless remarks.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, dismissed Gandhi’s “vote chori” allegations against the ruling party as a tired refrain. “Whenever I listen to Rahul Gandhi, inside or outside Parliament, it takes time to understand what he is trying to say… How are the atom bomb and the hydrogen bomb related to elections? Rahul Gandhi is irresponsible,” he remarked with sarcasm.
Prasad said Gandhi’s campaign reflected “arrogance” and frustration over repeated electoral defeats. “By alleging fraud and deceit behind the BJP's victories under Modi's leadership, the Congress leader has been insulting voters. This is arrogance and we will tell voters to punish him for his arrogance,” he charged.
He further claimed the Congress leader’s freshly concluded Vote Adhikar Yatra in Patna had little resonance on the ground. “The Yatra will have no impact on the Bihar assembly polls,” Prasad asserted, taking aim at RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for “playing second fiddle” to Gandhi despite having ambitions of his own for the chief minister’s chair.
Turning to the Special Intensive Review of electoral rolls in Bihar, Prasad defended the exercise as necessary to clean the system. “The SIR removed from electoral rolls 22 lakh dead voters and eight lakh duplicate voters,” he said, questioning whether such names should have remained on the lists. Opposition parties, he alleged, were opposing the review only because they sought “right and might to capture booths” and wanted “infiltrators” to vote.
Also read: Rahul vows ‘hydrogen bomb’ expose on 'vote chori'
On Gandhi’s claim that a “hydrogen bomb” of revelations was forthcoming, Prasad scoffed that his previous “atom bomb” had not even matched “a Diwali firecracker that does not go off”. He said, “The world has not really seen the impact of a hydrogen bomb. Now Rahul Gandhi is talking about it.”
Prasad also underlined tensions within the RJD, pointing out that Tejashwi Yadav’s sister Misa Bharti, MP from Patliputra, had skipped the rally in Patna despite her constituency overlapping the city. “Both Gandhi and Yadav are facing trial in corruption cases but were making big claims about morality,” Prasad said, adding that Lalu Prasad Yadav’s conviction spoke for itself.
The BJP leader argued that Gandhi’s sustained attacks on constitutional institutions such as the CAG and Election Commission stemmed from his belief that the prime ministership was his “divine right”. “Gandhi may believe that the prime minister's chair is his divine right, but people have and will continue to bless Modi with their votes,” he said.
Prasad reminded reporters that Gandhi had led similar high-pitched campaigns in the past on issues like Rafale and Pegasus but “found little traction”, while the prime minister continued to command public trust.
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