Tussle over Tiranga bike rally: BJP takes jibe at Opposition MPs’ absence, Cong replies with a Nehru twist

New Delhi: As the nation gears up to celebrate the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign from Aug 13 – Aug 15 to mark India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations, the Parliamentarians on Wednesday took out a Tiranga bike rally from Red Fort to the Parliament.

Several MPs including Ministers and young parliamentarians took part in the bike rally that was organized to pay tribute to the freedom fighters, as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Tiranga rally was flagged off by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu.

Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Anurga Thakur shared a video of his bike ride from the rally.

भाषा,संस्कृति, परिधान की विविधताओं से भरा यह देश,⁰पर सबका गौरव एक, राष्ट्रध्वज तिरंगा श्रेष्ठ 🇮🇳

आज़ादी के #AmritMahotsav के अंतर्गत आज साथी सांसदों, मंत्रियों व गणमान्यों के साथ #HarGharTiranga कार्यक्रम के अंतर्गत लाल क़िला से विजय चौक तक बाइक रैली में… pic.twitter.com/FtuggHnVrJ

— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) August 3, 2022

The Parliamentarians carried the national flag while driving the bike from Red Fort to Parliament while roads & streets were lined up with the Tricolour to instill patriotism in citizens.

“Why no Opposition MP at Tiranga rally,” questions BJP

While the Tiranga bike rally led to palpable enthusiasm and excitement on the streets, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that the Opposition lawmakers abstained from it.

Taking to Twitter, Amit Malviya, the BJP IT cell in-charge accused the Congress & others of insulting the Tricolour by not attending the rally.

This morning, MPs took out a Tiranga Bike Rally from the historic Red Fort in Delhi. Vice President flagged off the rally but no opposition MP chose to participate.

Is this an unequivocal admission that BJP is the sole custodian of the Tiranga, a symbol of our national pride?

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 3, 2022

“Is this an unequivocal admission that BJP is the sole custodian of the Tiranga, a symbol of our national pride?” Malviya asked.

BJP spokesman Shehzaad also slammed the Congress and tweeted, “Could see only BJP-NDA MPs. Does Tiranga belong to a party or nation? From Rashtrapati to Tiranga, why such insult?”

“Tiranga in our hearts,” Cong’s retort with a Nehru twist

Replying to BJP’s jibe over Opposition staying away from Tiranga rally, the Congress hit back with a ‘Nehru twist’.

Congress said that Tricolour is our hearts and it didn’t certification from the saffron party for proving its love for nation. Congress leader termed it a political event while Jairam Ramesh slammed the BJP by asking to make the amends in Nagpur first.

तिरंगा हमारे दिल में है, लहू बनकर हमारी रगों में है। 31 दिसंबर, 1929 को पंडित नेहरू ने रावी नदी के तट पर तिरंगा फहराते हुए कहा था, ‘अब तिरंगा फहरा दिया है, ये झुकना नहीं चाहिए’

आइए हम सब देश की अखंड एकता का संदेश देने वाले इस तिरंगे को अपनी पहचान बनाएं।जय हिंद#MyTirangaMyPride pic.twitter.com/NwgIMUHpp4

— Congress (@INCIndia) August 3, 2022

The Cong spokesperson said that we have put Jawaharlal Nehru’s picture in our profiles with the tricolor in his hands.

A day ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the citizens to change the DP of social media profiles to the Tiranga for celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Some of the top Congress leaders have also changed their profile photos to Jawaharlal Nehru holding the National Flag.

देश की शान है, हमारा तिरंगा
हर हिंदुस्तानी के दिल में है, हमारा तिरंगा pic.twitter.com/lhm0MWd3kM

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 3, 2022

“विजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा,
झंडा ऊँचा रहे हमारा” pic.twitter.com/KiWa7EP5qM

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) August 3, 2022