From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party’s national social media department head Amit Malviya on Tuesday raked up a controversy by tweeting a video of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi enjoying himself in a nightclub in Nepal on Monday “at a time when the party is exploding.”
Congress general secretary and chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala hit back, saying Rahul was in a friendly country to attend the marriage function of a journalist friend and that is not a crime. Rahul, who has just returned from abroad, was in Nepal for a private wedding and he has not gone there uninvited, he said.
In a statement, he said: “Rahul Gandhi has not gone as an uninvited guest like Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone to Pakistan to celebrate the birthday and cut cakes for the then Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. Rahul Gandhi has gone to a friendly country Nepal to participate in a private marriage function of a friend. By chance, the friend also happens to be a journalist,” he said.
Surjewala also hit out at the RSS, saying it is not a crime to attend weddings of family and friends as it is part of our culture, unlike the RSS.
In a taunt, Surjewala said: “Last when I checked, having a family in this country and having friends, attending marriage and engagement ceremonies is a matter of our culture and civilisation. It has still not become a crime in this country to be married, to be friends with someone or to attend their marriage celebration. Maybe after today, Prime Minister Modi or the BJP may decide that it is illegal to attend a marriage. They may say it is a crime to have friends or participate in family functions.”
Rahul Gandhi arrived in Nepal on Monday on a five-day private visit to the country. According to The Kathmandu Post newspaper, the Congress leader is in Kathmandu to attend the wedding of his Nepali friend Sumnima Udas.
“We had extended an invitation to Gandhi to attend the wedding of my daughter,” said Bhim Udas, Sumnima’s father who also served as Nepal’s Ambassador to Myanmar.
Sumnima, a former CNN correspondent, is getting married to Nima Martin Sherpa, the report had said.
The marriage function is planned for Tuesday and a reception will be held on May 5 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bauddha, the bride’s father Bhim said
In the video uploaded by the BJP’s Malviya that has gone viral on the social media, Rahul is seen in the background, surrounded by people taking drinks. It looks like a discotheque titled Lord of Rings in Kathmandu.
