NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "suppressing the voice of Tamil people", calling his remarks "extremely shameful and baseless".
The party described the Congress MP as a "textbook example" of separatism in Indian politics and asked him to refrain from indulging in divisive politics in the name of region, language and caste.
This came after Gandhi's allegation a day earlier that the Centre attempted to block actor-turned-politician Vijay's film "Jana Nayagan".
Gandhi called it an attack on Tamil culture and said Prime Minister Modi would never succeed in "suppressing the voice of the Tamil people".
Hitting back at the Congress leader, BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Pawan said the statement has nothing to do with reality or logic.
"He has given an extremely shameful and painful statement," Paswan said at a press conference here.
"Rahul Gandhi is a perfect textbook example of separatism in Indian politics," the BJP spokesperson said, urging him to "refrain from making such remarks".
He said the sensitivity shown by Prime Minister Modi towards the Tamil language, culture and heritage over the past 11 years is "unprecedented".
He noted that the Prime Minister has promoted Tamil identity on global platforms and recently urged students in northern India to learn the language during the Pariksha Pe Charcha event.
Paswan charged that those with "separatist tendencies" and an "anti-national mindset" continue to engage in "political tandav" using region, language and caste. He added that Rahul Gandhi's track record reflects a high level of insensitivity".