'I seek out the weakest & crush them': Rahul's pop quiz targets PM Modi, BJP

NEW DELHI: A day after social activist Swami Agnivesh was physically and verbally abused in Jharkhand, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi launched a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a 'pop quiz' on Wednesday.

Rahul's tweet came hours ahead of Monsoon Session of Parliament.

“Pop Quiz: I bow to the most powerful in the line. A person's strength & power are all that are important to me.  I use hatred & fear to maintain the hierarchy of power. I seek out the weakest & crush them. I rank all living beings based on their usefulness to me. Who am I?” tweeted the Congress president.

Pop Quiz

I bow to the most powerful in the line. A person's strength & power are all that are important to me.

I use hatred & fear to maintain the hierarchy of power. I seek out the weakest & crush them.

I rank all living beings based on their usefulness to me.

Who am I? pic.twitter.com/y7jw49Hei7 — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 18, 2018

In a shocking incident on Tuesday, 79-year-old social activist Swami Agnivesh, known for his work against bonded labour, was slapped, kicked around and verbally abused in Jharkhand's Pakur town by a mob. 

Agnivesh later alleged that the assaulters belonged to BJP-affiliated youth groups who accused him of speaking against Hindus and "acquiring tribal land by displacing them and giving it to corporate".

The Supreme Court on Tuesday also took a grim view of increasing incidents of mob lynchings and violence across the country. Urging the Parliament to consider creating a new law to prevent such instances, the top court said such acts need to be curbed with iron hands. 

Agnivesh was in Pakur, about 350 km from the state capital Ranchi, to attend an event of the Akhil Bharatiya Adim Janjatiya Vikas Samiti, a body of tribals. Agnivesh was headed to Littipara to attend a function of the Pahariya tribe.

"As soon as I came out of the venue, BJYM and ABVP activists attacked me without any provocation. They alleged that I was speaking against Hindus," he said. "I thought Jharkhand was a peaceful state, but my views have changed after this incident," he added. 

Videos of the alleged attack show a large crowd beating him and his supporters. The attackers first shouted slogans and showed black flags and later thrashed him even as he fell on the ground and his aides did their best to protect him. The police reportedly detained 20 attackers.

Several Opposition leaders have condemned the attack. Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das ordered a probe into the incident. 

With agency inputs