Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has said that ration card holders were being forced to buy the national flag by the shopkeepers, and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of selling “nationalism” and hurting the poor’s self-respect.
In a Facebook post in Hindi, Gandhi said tricol-our is our pride and it resides in every Indian’s heart. “Nationalism can never be sold. It is ,” Gandhi stated.
“Along with the tricolour, the BJP government is also attacking the self-respect of the poor of our country,” Gandhi said as he shared a video purport-edly showing some ration card holders complaining about being forced to pay Rs 20 to buy the flag”.
Earlier in the day, BJP MP Varun Gandhi too had pointed out that ration card holders were being forced to buy the national flag as a condition to avail the ration.
He said it will be unfortunate if the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of Independence become a burden on the poor.
He, in a tweet in Hindi, said it was “shameful” to force the poor to pay for the ‘Tiranga’ and deny them their food.
‘Tiranga’ lives in the heart of every Indian, Va-run Gandhi said in the same tweet. The Indian gov-ernment has urged people to hoist or display the national flag from their homes during August 13-15 as part of its ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ programme.
The BJP has been running a campaign to make Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call a big success.—KMS
