BJP slams Cong for honouring ex-UN head Michelle Bachelet

The BJP on Friday reacted sharply to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi presenting the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development to former Chilean president and ex-UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet.

Criticising the Congress, party spokesman Gaurav Bhatia accused it of being “an army of traitors”.

Advertisement

He also objected to the presence of Congress leader Jagdish Tytler at the ceremony, questioning if Sonia felt any empathy for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

“The Congress’ DNA is anti-India. It presented the award to Michelle Bachelet, who attacks India’s sovereignty. This is not Mahatma Gandhi’s Congress. This is the Congress party that stands with anti-India forces and murderers,” he said, calling the opposition party “an army of traitors”

Bachelet received the 2024 prize from Sonia Gandhi at an event in Delhi on Wednesday.

The BJP’s opposition to honouring Bachelet stems from comments she made in 2019 expressing concern about the security lockdown in Jammu & Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.

Describing the Congress as “anti-India,” Bhatia alleged that the party was endorsing someone who had undermined India’s sovereignty. Bachelet had criticised both the removal of Article 370 on human-rights grounds and the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, he said.

Bhatia questioned why Sonia and Rahul Gandhi overlooked the fact that the NRC process in Assam was carried out under a Supreme Court directive. “Who is this woman (Bachelet) to say that this NRC will spread unrest if implemented,” he asked.

Criticising Sonia Gandhi’s decision to present the award, Bhatia said she had honoured someone who “insults the Indian Constitution” and engages in “anti-India activities.” He also went on to allege that the act showed Gandhi valued “her birthplace” over India, adding that “the religion she follows is everything for her.”