Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi face off on Twitter after SC ruling on arrest of activists

While Rahul Gandhi has questioned the fate of NGOs and activists in the country, Amit Shah has pointed fingers at the state of Congress under its current president.

New Delhi: Barely an hour after the Supreme Court ruled that arrests of activists in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence are not because of dissent and difference in political views, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to post a sarcastic message on the fate of activists in the country. It was met with a stern rebuke from Amit Shah.

In his tweet, Rahul Gandhi targeted RSS and implied that there was no place for NGOs and activists to work in the country. "There is only place for one NGO in India and it's called the RSS. Shut down all other NGOs. Jail all activists and shoot those that complain. Welcome to the new India," wrote the Congress president.

Within minutes, BJP president Amit Shah fired back by elaborating on what he thought Congress had become under Rahul. "There is only one place for idiocy and it's called the Congress. Support ‘Bharat Ke Tukde Tukde Gang’, Maoists, fake activists and corrupt elements. Defame all those who are honest and working. Welcome to Rahul Gandhi’s Congress," he wrote.

There is only one place for idiocy and it's called the Congress. Support ‘Bharat Ke Tukde Tukde Gang’, Maoists, fake activists and corrupt elements. Defame all those who are honest and working. 

Welcome to Rahul Gandhi’s Congress.  #BhimaKoregaon https://t.co/eWoeT0qo1L — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) September 28, 2018

The arrest of the five activists - Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha - has been a matter of heated political debate in the country. They will continue to remain under house arrest which could possibly spark more debates.

This, however, is hardly the only issue on which Rahul and Amit Shah have duelled. Just a day earlier - on Thursday - Amit Shah accused Rahul of 'discreditng' a project to honour Sardar Vallabhai Patel. Rahul had said that a Rs 3,000 crore statue to honour Patel in Gujarat was 'Made in China.'

Apart from this, the two have gone head-to-head in matters dealing with demonetisation, Rafale deal, oil prices, job creation as well as other issues related to individual states.