New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday took potshots at Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, calling out their propaganda over India’s diplomacy in the conflict-ridden West Asia and said that they stand exposed after their own MP Shashi Tharoor’s admission of the Indian govt’s clear and unambiguous stance against American ‘misadventurisms’ in the Strait of Hormuz.

A BJP spokesperson said that instead of giving gifts to Rahul on his birthday, they chose to ‘puncture’ his claims.

Congress has been training guns on the Modi government over the killing of three Indian sailors in a recent US strike on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman, accusing it of staying silent and not confronting the United States. They also mocked the Prime Minister over his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit.

However, Tharoor’s support for PM Modi’s plain speaking during a meeting with Trump and also concerns about the safety of Indian sailors gave the BJP fresh ammo to target the Congress.

Shashi Tharoor, speaking to IANS on Friday, said that PM Modi was right in raising the security of Indian sailors with the US President and stating that civilian sailors must not become collateral victims of wartime situations.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly able to convey a message that we would all agree with, namely that commercial shipping should not be targeted in a war. These are civilian sailors, as you know, pretty much every ship, whatever country’s flag is flying, has Indian crew on board,” Tharoor told IANS.

He added that PM Modi conveyed a fair message surrounding the safety of seafarers in the shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf.

Tharoor also said that even if Americans claim that they have no idea what crew is in the ship, the fact remains that these are civilian ships and civilian crew, and they should find a non-lethal way to deal with it.

Citing Tharoor’s support for the Indian government, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, “Shashi Tharoor has exposed Rahul Gandhi. Congress leaders are praising the Narendra Modi govt’s diplomacy.”

Further slamming the Congress MP, he said, “When it comes to protecting India’s national interest, PM Modi comes first, when it comes to speaking against India’s national interest, Rahul Gandhi leaves everyone behind.”

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla called it an embarrassment for the LoP Rahul, stating that the Congress leaders didn’t give birthday gift to him on his birthday and rather chose to debunk his claims.

“Tharoor didn’t give birthday gift to Rahul Gandhi yesterday, rather he punctured his propaganda against the Modi government’s silence before the US President on the killing of Indian sailors in the Persian Gulf,” Poonawala said.

“Tharoor said that PM Modi articulately presented India’s position before Donald Trump, stressing India’s concern over the closure of the shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz and also the targeting of civilian sailors in American attack. This shows that even party leaders are not with him on the issue,” the BJP spokesperson added.

–IANS

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