New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday alleged that Rahul Gandhi had a meeting with “enemies of India” during his visit to Germany and demanded transparency in the engagements of Leader of the Opposition with “global actors abroad”.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia showed a purported picture of Gandhi with Berlin-based Hertie school president and professor Cornellia Woll and called it “proof” of the Congress leader meeting “anti-India forces in Germany”.
Bhatia claimed that Woll is one of the trustees of the Central European University, which is funded by US-based billionaire investor George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, and asked Gandhi as to what kind of “conspiracy” he was hatching against the country by joining hands with such forces.
There was no immediate reaction from Rahul Gandhi or the Congress.
Last year too, the BJP had alleged that top Congress leaders had links with Soros-funded organisations that were involved in “anti-India” activities.
Raising questions on Gandhi’s foreign visits, the BJP spokesperson asked why the Congress leader or his party does not make his itinerary public.
Though it’s people’s right to know about the Leader of Opposition’s itinerary during his foreign visit, neither the Congress share any information in this regard nor Gandhi on his X timeline, Bhatia charged on Saturday.
“If anyone meets anti-India forces and insults Bharat from foreign soil, it’s none other than Rahul,” Bhatia alleged, adding, “George Soros and Rahul Gandhi are two bodies but one soul.”
The BJP spokesperson asked why Gandhi goes abroad during or ahead of almost every session of Parliament and “meets enemies of India, who are jealous of India and attack its integrity”.
“What kind of anti-India agenda is it that the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is hatching a conspiracy against Bharat by joining hands with such anti-India forces,” he asked.
Bhatia alleged that Gandhi met “anti-India” forces during his previous foreign visits also and had “defamed and insulted India” with his remarks.
“This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi is indulging in such anti-national activities,” he said, adding, “Rahul Gandhi has become Mir Zafar”.
Bhatia alleged that Soros makes anti-India statements and also provides funds to create unrest in India and attack the country’s integrity and sovereignty.
“George Soros is not an Indian; he is a foreigner. But Rahul Gandhi has taken the oath to protect the Constitution. People gave him the responsibility to stand with India, and he is doing ILU-ILU (I love you) with anti-India forces,” he said.
“These snakelets within India need to be treated. People of the country are demanding it,” Bhatia added.
“It’s now clear that Rahul Gandhi is very shrewd. Opposition to India is ingrained in his DNA because of his insatiable desire for power,” he alleged.
The “entire scenario” is a “matter of concern” because India is growing at a faster pace under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and the forces “unhappy with India’s rising strength and global stature” are engaged in spreading disinformation about the country, Bhatia said.
BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said Gandhi’s recent Germany visit deserves “public scrutiny” as it raises “important questions”.
“During the visit, he interacted with Cornelia Woll, a prominent academic associated with institutions that are often linked, directly or indirectly, to global political funding networks.
“There is ample information in public domain that several such networks have received support from organisations connected to George Soros and his Open Society ecosystem,” he claimed in a post on X.
While no “official clarification” has been offered by the Congress or Gandhi about the purpose or outcomes of his meeting with Woll, the overlap between “international political activism, funding networks, and Indian domestic politics naturally invites questions”, the BJP leader said.
“When the Leader of the Opposition engages with influential global actors abroad, transparency becomes essential,” he added.
Public life demands “accountability”, Malviya emphasised.
“Instead of dismissing these clandestine meetings as ‘conspiracy theories’, it would be healthier for India’s democracy if clear explanations were provided about the intent, context, and implications of such foreign engagements,” he said.
