Belligerent Modi: Anything to win Gujarat, Continuing his attack on suspended Congress party leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now alleged that Aiyar had gone to Pakistan after the NDA came to power where he had said that until Modi was not removed India-Pakistan ties could not improve. "Why did he go to Pakistan? To give my 'supari'? (contract killing)," a provocative PM asked the crowd at an election rally.
The Prime Minister, who was in Banaskantha to campaign for his BJP party for the 14th state assembly elections, said: “On Thursday Mani Shankar Aiyar made a statement. I ask the audience, Was it an insult to me or you?” Modi asked the audience the question seven or eight times. “Should this insult be punished or not?”, he continued.
On Thursday, Aiyar called Modi a “bahut neech kisam ka aadmi” who is practising “dirty politics”, triggering a storm. The Congress suspended him for the remarks.
Modi said: “This Mani Shankar Aiyar after I became the Prime Minister, went to Pakistan and talked with the people there and said that now there is this Narendra Modi, unless you remove him India-Pakistan relationship cannot improve. I ask you, Why did he go to Pakistan? To give ‘supari’ of Modi?.”
Continuing his scathing attack on the Congress, Modi said, “You the people of Banaskantha were here during the floods, afflicted with pain and trouble. Where were your Congress MLAs, and where were the BJP people. The Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Shankarbhai Chaudhary, were they not helping you in times of your trouble? Whereas the Congress MLAs were enjoying themselves in a Bengaluru resort. Here you were drowning in flood waters, there they were enjoying themselves in Bengaluru swimming pools. Here the BJP was holding relief camps for you, there they (Congress) were having Resort Camps. Should you not punish them?” Modi was referring to the Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections in August when the Congress ferried its MLAs to Bengaluru to prevent them from being poached by the BJP.
Once again referring to the Morbi tragedy, Modi said, “I was there during the Morbi tragedy in 1979 with RSS workers and helping people. The RSS workers were fishing out decayed dead bodies from putrid waters, while the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited keeping a kerchief on her mouth to protect herself from the bad air. This is the difference in the culture between the BJP and the Congress.”
Referring to the Surat floods, Modi said, “During the floods, I went there to clean the roads, helping the local people despite my being the Chief Minister of the state. During your floods recently, I myself came and took an aerial survey to help you and ensured your safety.”
“But because of all this, the Congress people don’t like me. We carried out surgical strikes entering into the Pakistan house. I ask you, didn’t you feel good about it? Didn’t you feel proud about it? Did you not feel proud about the Indian Army? But only the Congress didn’t like it. They said that Pakistan has denied the strikes.”
In Kalol constituency of Gandhinagar, which goes to polls on December 14, Modi continued in the same vein. He said, “The path of development should continue. I urge the voters who will be voting on the 9th and the 14th, vote for the person who lives for you. You are my family. The 1.25 crore people are my family.”
Meanwhile, suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said he was ready to accept any punishment from the party for his “neech aadmi” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and added that he is “saddened” if it has done any damage to the party, ahead of the Gujarat polls.
“If any damage has been done to Congress because of what I said, then I am saddened. I am ready to accept any punishment that the Congress party wants to give me,” said Aiyar.
“I did not have any such intention,” he added.
On Thursday, Aiyar triggered a major storm calling Narendra Modi a “neech aadmi” (base), which the Prime Minister gave a caste angle, telling an election rally in Gujarat that describing him as “neech jaati” (low born) was an insult to Gujaratis who will vote out the Congress in the assembly elections
In a damage-control move, the Congress on Thursday night suspended the senior party leader from its primary membership and slapped a show cause notice on him for his “neech” remark, which has mushroomed into a massive controversy just ahead of the Gujarat polls. (IANS)