"Juvenile, Shallow": Jairam Ramesh On JP Nadda's "110 insults" Claim

A BJP leader's invective for Rahul Gandhi -- that he is the "number one terrorist" -- has snowballed into a huge row, with leaders of the Congress and the BJP carrying on a no-holds barred epistolary war. First it was Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the response to which came this morning from BJP chief JP Nadda. While it was formally answered by Jairam Ramesh, the Congress's communications in-charge, a barrage of verbal criticism came from the party's other leaders. With each letter, the barbs have got sharper.

"The Congress is shocked that the letter written by our president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Shri Mallikarjun Kharge ji to the Prime Minister was passed on to you to respond... Your response to Mallikarjun Kharge's letter to the prime minister is both juvenile and shallow, and a shameful attempt to distract from the serious threats to Rahul Gandhi's life," Mr Ramesh wrote.

"Before attempting to bestow certificates of nationalism upon the Congress Party -- a party whose leaders have laid down their lives for this nation -- it would serve you well to first reflect on the party and ideology you represent. May you never forget that even before the tragic assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, your ideological forefathers were instrumental in cultivating an atmosphere of violence and hatred against Bapu," he added.