NEW DELHI: Slamming LoP Rahul Gandhi after he and Elon Musk had a friendly exchange on X over the world’s richest man’s swipe at the Indian govt, BJP said this was evidence of hobnobbing with foreign players against national interest.BJP said Musk must remember that he is not dealing with a banana republic. “He is dealing with a big country which is respected, whose leadership is respected globally. He should also be respectful towards this country and its leadership. This is Modi govt. Everything will happen in a transparent and non-discriminatory way,” Party’s Ram Madhav said, recalling the corruption allegations in the spectrum-allocation which had dogged the previous Congress-headed UPA govt.“What is significant is that it is not the first time Congress netas have sought international support against the democratically elected govt in India,” BJP’s Smriti Irani said. BJP also recalled that Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh had once raised national security concerns if India approves the entry of Starlink, the satellite internet service offered by Musk-owned SpaceX.Former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Rahul is a flag-bearer of political opportunism. “From questioning India’s democracy on foreign soil to declaring a fight against the Indian State itself, his politics has repeatedly raised questions about his priorities. Now, Congress has reversed its own position on an issue it once opposed on national security grounds. What changed in a year? Principles cannot be discarded for political convenience.

“With JNU sacking its professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, a Congress MP from Manipur, over sexual harassment allegations, BJP questioned Rahul’s silence and said this exposed his hypocrisy.“The deafening silence of Rahul, who hypocritically chants ‘smash the patriarchy’ even after the inquiry committee proved the allegations of sexual harassment of female students at JNU against Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, exposes Congress’ glaring double standards,” Irani said.