Rahul Gandhi’s gaffe at J&K poll rally prompts BJP to hurl ‘balak buddhi’ jibe

Congress MP and the Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi found himself in the midst of controversy as his faux pas at a public rally in J&K gave the BJP a fresh opportunity to take a shot at him.

Congress leader, addressing an election rally in Jammu goofed up mid-way in his speech and mixed up Kashmir Pandits with refugees from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), however, he was quick to correct his mistake.

Addressing the public gathering, Rahul remarked, “Those refugees who came from PoK, the promises made to them by Manmohan Singh ji will be fulfilled.”

Just moments later, he corrected himself, saying, “Sorry… Kashmiri Pandits…promises made to Kashmiri Pandits will be fulfilled.”

However, his blunder was caught on camera and the video landed on social media, creating a flutter among netizens.

BJP was quick to latch on to the issue as it gave them fresh ammo to corner him as well as the Congress party, even as the Union Territory remains in the midst of elections. The second phase of polling concluded today while the third phase of polling is slated for October 1.

BJP shared Rahul’s video clip on its X handle and took ‘balak buddhi’ over his gaffe.

“This man can’t differentiate between refugees from PoK and Kashmiri Pandits… and then expects to be taken seriously. The Opposition can certainly have someone more worthy to represent them,” it said.

“Shame on the Congress for thrusting this Balak Buddhi on us,” it added.

Congress leader addressed two rallies in J&K today – one in Jammu and another in Sopore. He made a strong pitch for restoring statehood to the Union Territory.

The LoP has been repeatedly advocating for the restoration of statehood to J&K in his public speeches and claiming that the Centre has done great injustice to the people of the region by dividing the state into two UTs.