The Congress on Friday moved a privilege motion against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Nishikant Dubey and Sambit Patra over their remarks against Lok Sabha leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that the party has moved privilege motions against both the MPs for their "derogatory remarks" against Gandhi, as reported by news agency ANI.

A privilege motion is a formal notice that an MP or MLA can submit if they believe there has been a breach of parliamentary privilege.

This comes after the BJP, on Thursday (December 5), launched a full-frontal attack on Congress in response to the latter's offensive against the government in Parliament and outside, following the indictment of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani in an alleged bribery case by US prosecutors.

During a press conference on December 5, Patra referred to the Leader of Opposition as a "traitor of the highest order". Meanwhile, in Lok Sabha, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey spoke in Parliament to question the Congress Party’s ties with people associated with the Soros Foundation and other foreign figures who have criticised India in the past.

What BJP MPs Dubey And Patra Accused Rahul Gandhi Of

Addressing a press conference in the capital, Sambit Patra said, “We are going to talk about this dangerous triangle that is trying to destabilise India. In this triangle, on one side is George Soros from America, along with some American agencies; on another side is a major news portal, OCCRP; and on the final and most important side of the triangle is Rahul Gandhi, the ‘traitor of the highest order.’ I am not afraid to say this. I have no hesitation in calling the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha a traitor.”

Meanwhile, on the same day, in Lok Sabha, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said, “Was Salil Shetty not in the Bharat Jodo Yatra? Is he not an employee of the Soros Foundation? Did they not meet Ilhan Omar, Barbara Lee, or Ro Khanna, who wrote a letter in America asking to boycott the PM and not address him in Parliament? Don’t they want to create Khalistan and divide Kashmir? They meet all the elements in foreign countries who want to break India.”

Dubey began his Zero Hour intervention with a slew of allegations including that the Congress was working with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global journalism project backed by Soros’s Open Society Foundation. The Foundation was trying to disrupt the Indian Parliament and derail the government.

Top BJP leaders have been targeting US billionaire financier-philanthropist George Soros ever since the Adani-Hindenburg controversy in February. These comments follow Soros' statement that the troubles of the Adani Group would “significantly weaken Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal government.” The BJP countered by accusing Soros of attempting to “destroy” Indian democracy and promoting a group of "hand-picked" individuals to run the government. Several opposition leaders have also highlighted Soros' remarks to criticise the ruling party.

Congress Slams BJP

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak said, "A very unfortunate incident occurred yesterday. The Congress is the oldest party in the country. The former president of the party, a five-time elected MP, the leader of the opposition, a grandson of a martyred Prime Minister, a man whose family's sacrifice has nourished the soil of this country. How did the BJP dare to call Rahul Gandhi a traitor? The people of the country want to know, where do you get so much shamelessness from?"

"If anyone has hatched an international conspiracy in this country, it is Gautam Adani, who has been accused of bribery, fraud, and has worked to tarnish India's image," Nayak alleged.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the BJP today. "Those who can call Jawaharlal Nehru, who spent 13 years in jail during the independence struggle, a traitor, those who can call Indira Gandhi, who broke Pakistan into two, a traitor, and those who can call Rajiv Gandhi, who was martyred for the country, a traitor, then if they are doing the same with Rahul Gandhi, there is nothing new in it," Priyanka told reporters outside Parliament.

"I am proud of my brother; for my brother, nothing is above the country," she said, as she participated in the opposition's protest over the Adani issue.

(With PTI Inputs)