New Delhi: As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sought to draw parallel between India and Iraq & Libya, questions are being raised over links between Indira Gandhi and Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein.

Rahul Gandhi, in an online interaction with Professor Ashutosh Varshney of the Brown University in the US, sought to justify the ‘democracy downgraded in India’ report of a Swedish institute report and said that “the situation is actually much more worse than they have imagined.”

Following this, BJP has gone ballistic against Rahul Gandhi and is now questioning its links with one of the most atrocious dictators of the world.

Sadaam lifted Indira’s suitcase, offered her residence in Baghdad

According to a leading Hindi portal, Saddam Hussein had carried Indira Gandhi’s suitcase during her visit to the nation in 1975. When Indira lost the Lok Sabha elections, dictator Saddam had offered a permanent residence in Iraq’s capital, it says.

It is further reported by the portal that it was Indira who gave names to Saddam Hussein’s two sons.

Representatives of Saddam Hussein-led socialist party used to participate in Congress party’s national executive sessions.

In fact, India-Iraq links are decades old and it apparently got strengthened under Congress governments. If Iraq was 1st to acknowledge and accept India’s independence, the latter validated the Baath party-led govt in Iraq. In the 1980s, Indian air force gave training to Iraqi air force personnels.

BJP tears into Rahul, Congress

A couple of BJP leaders have tore into Rahul Gandhi and Congress party for propagating false propaganda and giving fodder to foreign agencies to target India.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday lambasted Rahul Gandhi over his remark on Indian democracy. He stated that comparing India’s democracy with that of Saddam Hussain and Muammar Gaddafi’s erstwhile Iraq and Libya is an insult to the country and its voters.

“I feel giving a comment on Rahul Gandhi’s opinion is worthless. He always makes an outlandish statement. I do not know, which planet he lives in? Comparing the country’s democracy to that of Gaddafi’s is an insult to India and to the 80 crore people who vote. During the 2 years of Emergency back in 1975-77, we witnessed a time like that of Gaddafi and Saddam,” Javadekar said.