'Call Us Whatever You Want, Mr Modi...': Rahul Gandhi Hits Back At PM Over East India Company Remark

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks targeting the Opposition alliance 'INDIA' and said that 'call us whatever you want' but 'we will rebuild the idea of India' in Manipur.

"Call us whatever you want, Mr Modi. We are INDIA. We will help heal Manipur and wipe the tears of every woman and child. We will bring back love and peace for all her people," he said in a tweet.

"We will rebuild the idea of India in Manipur," the former Congress chief added.

His response came after PM Modi slammed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as the 'most directionless' the country has ever seen and cited reviled names, such as East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, to assert that people cannot be misled merely by the use of the country's name.

With opposition parties rallying around the name 'INDIA' for their alliance, Modi, at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliamentary Party meeting on Tuesday, cited the history of several organisations, including certain banned extremist and terror outfits, using the country's name and panned the grouping as a collection of corrupt leaders and parties.

Even the Indian National Congress, the main opposition party, was named so by an Englishman, AO Hume, the prime minister reportedly said.

Organisations that wanted to rule and divide the country have used names like 'India' and 'Indian' to mislead people, PM Modi added. People have now matured and will not be misled by such nomenclature, he asserted.

With the BJP accusing opposition parties of disrupting parliamentary proceedings, Modi said they have become more irresponsible, making it imperative for the ruling party to behave more responsibly.