CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday attacked the Congress after its leader Mani Shankar Aiyar reiterated his “neech” remark, saying the party has ruled the country for decades with this “mindset”.
He also said the nation was electing a strong government and was choosing from “India first”, than family first.
Addressing an election rally here Tuesday evening in favour of BJP candidate Kirron Kher, Modi slammed Aiyar, without naming him.
“During Gujarat elections, their confidante who had occupied an important position in their government said Modi is ‘neech’. There was an outrage in Gujarat and then, they (Congress) pretended to throw him out of the party. After some days, he was taken back,” he said without naming Aiyar.
“What they did was wrong. He openly says there was nothing wrong in abusing me. Namdaar’s family and his friends ruled the country for decades with this mindset,” Modi said.
Aiyar, in an article Tuesday, justified his “neech” jibe against Modi, and also called him the most “foul-mouthed” prime minister the country has seen.
Modi, at the rally, also slammed Congress leader Sam Pitroda over his ‘hua to hua’ remarks on 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying it reflected the Congress’s arrogance.
“When a confidant of Namdaar’s family makes such comments, then you can understand whose language he was speaking. I can say with confidence that had the elections not been there in Punjab, then Namdaar would not have admonished him,” he claimed.
Modi was referring to Congress president Rahul Gandhi rebuking Pitroda for his comments and saying that the party’s overseas unit chief should be ashamed of himself for the “totally wrong” remarks.
“He (Gandhi) would not have pretended to utter even a single word to him,” he said. “When the elections will be over in Punjab, he will again hug his ‘guru’ (Pitroda),” said Modi.
He claimed that even when scams worth crore of rupees took place, the Congress was thinking ‘hua to hua’.
“When a former railway minister’s relative was indulging in corruption in recruitment, the Congress was thinking ‘hua to hua’,” he said in a veiled attack.
He was referring to the corruption charges against a nephew of former railway minister and Congress candidate from Chandigarh, Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Modi said the country was electing a determined and strong government and not one which is helpless.
“It is choosing ‘India first’, than ‘family first’, not dynasty but development,” he said, adding the nation was choosing those who had hit terrorists in their den.
Modi also used a popular sport, cricket, to target the UPA government.
He said cricket had become a part of life in India, but in 2009 and 2014 when the Congress-led UPA government was in power, the tournament was shifted to another country during general elections as the then dispensation was unsure if it could provide security or not.
“Are Lok Sabha elections not going on now? Is the IPL not being played here,” he asked, praising his government for ensuring that IPL goes on simultaneously with general elections.
Besides ensuring smooth celebration of religious festivals, including Navratri, Easter and Ramzan, after the announcement of elections, relief measures were also carried out in eastern part of the country, which was hit by Cyclone Fani recently, he said.
“How is everything being managed at same time now,” he asked the gathering.
Modi also said that in 2014, the Congress and their “mahamilavati” allies were not been able to digest the people’s mandate and added that since he had assumed power, they were trying to insult all decisions taken by him.
He said that as a result of transparent policies of his government, eight crore fake beneficiaries of various schemes were identified.
“When shops of so many middlemen have been shut by this chowkidar, it is causing them pain… For our government, DBT means Direct Benefit Transfer, but their DBT is Direct Bicholia Transfer (to benefit middlemen),” he said.
Meanwhile, around 12 college students were detained by police for selling “Modi pakodas” wearing their degree robes near the venue of the prime minister’s rally here.
The students were selling pakodas named after Modi and their degrees – Engineer, BA and LLB, near the venue he was to address the rally. PTI
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