(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday came down heavily on Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his remarks made during his visit to Colombia, accusing him of defaming India on foreign soil and showing“affection for China.”

Senior BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, addressing a press conference, said it was unfortunate that on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami, instead of extending greetings to Indians, Rahul Gandhi chose to criticise the country abroad.

“Rahul Gandhi is abroad. It would have been better if, on the occasion of Vijayadashami, he had extended greetings to the people of the country. But instead, he chooses to speak against India,” Prasad remarked.

He alleged that Gandhi has developed a“habit of defaming India and insulting its democracy.”

Citing Rahul Gandhi's statements in Bogotá, Prasad said:“He claimed that there is no democracy in India and that people do not have freedom of speech. This is completely baseless. If he says such things abroad, he will lose the trust of the people here and will not even be able to win seats.”

Prasad accused the Congress leader of consistently making false allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi while enjoying full freedom to attack the BJP at home.“Rahul Gandhi abuses PM Modi without shame. He says there is no freedom of speech, yet he insults the BJP and the Prime Minister the most,” he said.

Turning to Gandhi's reported remarks on China, Prasad charged:“Now you are praising China, saying India cannot become a global power but China can. Your admiration for China is evident, and you never miss an opportunity to insult India.”

Highlighting India's growing global stature, Prasad asserted:“Today India is the world's fourth-largest economy, on its way to becoming the third. We strongly condemn Rahul Gandhi's repeated attempts to belittle India abroad.”

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