'Congress working as biggest PR of Pakistan': BJP's Tejasvi Surya after party's 'Gayab' jibe at PM

NEW DELHI: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya criticized the Congress party on Wednesday in New Delhi, accusing them of being Pakistan's "biggest PR" and failing to act as a responsible opposition, following a now-deleted Congress post about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's absence during times of responsibility that featured an image of kurta-pyjama and black sandals with the word "GAYAB."
The BJP leader's comments came after he paid tribute to 12th century social reformer Basavanna on his Jayanti.

"Unfortunately, today in India, Congress is working as the biggest PR of Pakistan. This is very unfortunate. Congress has maybe forgotten the way a responsible opposition must behave," Surya said.
Surya also criticized Karnataka chief Mminister Siddaramaiah for his statements about war with Pakistan not being necessary.
"Especially, some Ministers of Karnataka and the CM, the way they are giving statements like agents of Pakistan, the patriots of this country are finding it very unfortunate. Congress is behaving like the most irresponsible opposition country has ever seen," he stated.
Siddaramaiah later clarified his position on Sunday through a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I have observed the debates and discussions, both for and against, surrounding the statement I made about war. War should always be a nation's last resort -- never the first, nor the only option. Only when every other means to defeat the enemy have failed should a country be compelled to go to war," the chief minister wrote.
He addressed the recent terror attack in Pahalgam in his post, highlighting security concerns.
"The horrific terror attack in Pahalgam, orchestrated by Pakistan-backed militants, has made it painfully clear -- both to the people of our nation and to the central government -- that there were grave lapses in our intelligence and security apparatus. It is now the government's solemn responsibility first to correct these shortcomings and to ensure such tragedies are not repeated in the future," Siddaramaiah stated.
The Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 resulted in 26 casualties, including one Nepali citizen.
Siddaramaiah expressed support for the central government's diplomatic actions against Pakistan-backed terrorism, including the review of the Indus Waters Treaty.
The chief minister suggested that additional measures might be forthcoming, noting that not all actions need to be publicly disclosed.
India has implemented strong measures against Pakistan in response to its support of cross-border terrorism following the Pahalgam attack.