‘Lashkar-e-Pakistan Congress’: BJP Slams Congress Over ‘Gayab’ Jibe at PM Modi

New Delhi: A political storm erupted on Tuesday after the Congress party, in a veiled swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, posted a controversial image on its official social media handle, depicting a kurta-pajama with the word ‘Gayab’ (missing), in reference to the Prime Minister’s absence from the recent all-party meeting following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Captioned “Zimmedari ke waqt – Gayab” (Missing at the time of responsibility), the post quickly gained traction online and was even shared by former Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry, prompting outrage from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh defended the post, clarifying that the party had no political motive behind it. Speaking to ANI, Ramesh said, “PM Modi was not present at the all-party meeting. We had demanded such a meeting on April 22. The Prime Minister should speak in Parliament and explain how the attack happened. There is no political agenda.”

However, the BJP lashed out sharply, accusing Congress of echoing extremist narratives. Responding on X (formerly Twitter), the BJP alleged, “Congress flaunts a headless kurta to echo the extremist ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ slogan, exposing its continuous slide into Muslim League 2.0 — divisive, desperate, and directionless.”

The saffron party added, “Let Pakistan and its fellow-travellers in @INCIndia threaten all they wish; New India will neither bend nor break. Terror will be met with bullets, not biryani.”

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey raised serious concerns over Congress’s intentions, questioning whether the party had links with terrorist outfit Ghazwa-al-Hind. “Congress has been trying to separate the head and body of PM Modi for years… Is the same person tweeting on both accounts?” he wrote.

BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia escalated the rhetoric, branding the Congress as “Lashkar-e-Pakistan Congress” and accused the party of aligning with Pakistan during a time of national grief. “’Sar tan se juda’ has become the ideology of Congress today… Such posts are done on the instructions of Rahul Gandhi, which make the country ashamed,” Bhatia told ANI.

BJP leader RP Singh also joined the attack, calling Congress “Friends of Pakistan” in a sharply-worded post on social media.

Meanwhile, amid the political escalation, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has written to the Prime Minister, urging the government to convene a special session of Parliament to show collective resolve in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people on April 22.