New Delhi, Nov 15 The BJP on Sunday lashed out at the Congress for “boycotting” an event organised to mark the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda at the Parliament House complex and said this reflects the main opposition party’s “anti-tribal mindset”.
In an all-out attack on the opposition party, several BJP leaders, including Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, also decried Rahul Gandhi for skipping the event, alleging that the Congress leader attended the two-day “anti-Bharat Summit” in Hyderabad but could not find time to pay homage to Birsa Munda at the Parliament House complex.
They were referring to the Bharat Summit, an initiative of the Congress backed by the Telangana government.
The BJP leaders also accused Gandhi of “double standards”, alleging that the Congress has only “exploited” the emotions of the tribals and left them “at the mercy of foreign NGOs”.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday paid floral tributes to freedom fighter Birsa Munda in the Parliament House complex on the occasion of his 151st birth anniversary, celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas on November 15 every year.
Posting a video clip of the event on X, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said, “While Parliament paid tribute to Dharti Aaba Bhagwan Birsa Munda on his 151st birth anniversary, Rahul Gandhi, the self-proclaimed voice of Adivasis, was busy in Hyderabad attending the Bharat Summit alongside controversial foreign political figures.”
“For all the speeches, slogans and social media posts claiming to champion Adivasi rights, showing up to honour their greatest icons seems to be a different story. Perhaps paying lip service is easier than paying tribute,” he added.
Majhi said Adivasi pride deserves more than “political optics”.
“It demands genuine respect for the icons who fought for their identity, dignity and rights,” he said.
Senior BJP leader and former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi also took on Gandhi, lamenting that the Congress leader, who visited Hyderabad to address the two-day Bharat Summit, did not consider it appropriate to visit Parliament House and pay floral tribute to Bhagwan Birsa Munda, an iconic tribal figure and freedom fighter.
“This shows Congress’ thinking about the Adivasis (tribals). It is deeply distressing to learn that the Congress does not like to accord respect even to great figures from the Adivasi community,” Marandi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Jharkhand assembly, said in an audio message.
“The Congress party will have to pay the price for this,” he added.
BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi claimed that none of the Congress leaders came to the Parliament House complex for the Birsa Munda tribute event and said this demonstrates the “anti-tribal mindset” of the opposition party.
“The Congress has always been against tribal society and forest-dwelling communities. They have only exploited their emotions, exploited them and left them at the mercy of foreign NGOs,” the BJP Rajya Sabha MP told reporters.
“I want to ask Rahul Gandhi ji that you talk so big… not even a single leader from your party came to pay tribute to Bhagwan Birsa Munda ji on Janjatiya Gaurav Divas,” the BJP leader said.
“They (Congress) harbour the same hatred toward every iconic figure of the Indian cultural tradition and every centre of reverence. Their ill will toward the tribal community has once again come to the fore today in the Parliament House,” he added.
BJP Scheduled Tribes Morcha president Manna Lal Rawat accused Gandhi of insulting Birsa Munda by skipping the tribute event.
“I believe his priority is not India’s pride, nor the rights or identity of tribal communities. His priorities lie elsewhere. This double standard of yours will not work,” he said in a video message.
BJP national convenor Ashish Usha Agarwal said in a post on X, Gandhi and the Congress never miss an opportunity to claim that they are the voice of Adivasis and champions of tribal rights. “But where were they today?
“On Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, the birth anniversary of Dharti Aaba Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, and the Congress were conspicuous by their absence from the parliamentary tribute programme.”
“Instead, Rahul Gandhi was busy attending the anti-Bharat Summit in Hyderabad, an event whose proceedings have raised serious questions about its political agenda and discourse on India’s democracy,” Agarwal charged.
“The question to Rahul Gandhi and Congress is simple: Where were the so-called champions of Adivasi rights when the nation was paying tribute to its greatest tribal icon?” the BJP leader added.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari slammed the Congress for “boycotting” the event and alleged that Gandhi had instructed the party to ensure that none of its senior MPs participates in the programme.
“The Congress party and Rahul Gandhi boycotted an event held in Parliament to honour Bhagwan Birsa Munda. Rahul Gandhi has time to sit with George Soros’s agents in Hyderabad, but when it comes to honouring Bhagwan Birsa Munda, he chose to boycott the event,” he charged.
“It proves that the Congress is anti-ST (Scheduled Tribes). The Congress hates the forest-dwelling and tribal community of this country and loves only and only the (Gandhi) family,” Bhandari told PTI Videos.
(PTI News)
