'Why is he hobnobbing...': BJP targets Rahul Gandhi for alleged George Soros link

India's Union minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday opened a front against former parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi over his recent visit to the US. Irani attempted to establish a connection between Rahul Gandhi and George Soros, saying the Congress party leader "hobnobbed" with people having suspicious credentials, including those close to the billionaire.

Irani said Congress had failed to answer if Gandhi had indeed met Sunita Vishwanath, an activist accused by BJP of harbouring anti-Hindu views.

"The question that has been left unanswered by the Congress party is - Is it true that Rahul Gandhi met Sunita Vishwanathduring his trip to the US?" asked Irani.

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"When it is clear to every Indian what George Soros intends to do, why is Rahul Gandhi hobnobbing with those who are funded by Soros? It is also evident that this is not the only Soros connection. Even in Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, the Global Vice President of the Open Society Foundation, funded by George Soros, was found accompanying Rahul Gandhi," she added.

Referring toTanzeem Ansari, project director of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), which has links to the Jamaat-e-Islami, Irani continued the salvo. According to Irani,Ansari was the individual who coordinated Gandhi's New York trip.

"What is extremely distressing is the link with the Islamic Circle of North America," she said, adding that if one ran a public domain search on the registration process for NRI interaction with Rahul Gandhi in New York, one will find the contact of Ansari.

Irani's previous attack on Soros

Notably, this is not the first time that Irani has called out Soros for being a divisive force. After Soros' comments on the Adani-Hindenburg report, Irani called him an "economic war criminal" and “a man who broke the Bank of England”.

Irani said Soros declared his “ill intentions to interfere in the democratic processes of India”, and wants a government that is pliable to his needs.

BJP attempting to even the scales?

Meanwhile, the all-out attack by the BJP machinery on the Gandhi scion comes on the back of an FIR being filed against top leader Amit Malviya for an animated video uploaded on social media, following a complaint by a Karnataka Congress leader.

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BJP leaders slammed the Congress for the FIR, saying it was politically motivated and designed to silence Malviya, who heads the party’s information technology cell.

(With inputs from agencies)

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