Pakistan Eager To See ‘Shehzada’ Take My Place: PM’s Dig At Rahul Gandhi

Latching on to a post by a former Pakistani minister praising Rahul Gandhi, PM Narendra Modi has claimed that the Congress is a disciple of the neighbouring country, which is eager to see the party leader become the next prime minister.

Addressing a rally at Anand in Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi repeated his ‘shehzada‘ (prince) jibe against Rahul Gandhi and said in Hindi, “Look at the coincidence. At a time when the Congress is weakening in India and it is difficult to spot it even with a microscope… the Congress is dying here and Pakistan is crying. You must have heard Pakistani leaders are praying for the Congress and Pakistan is eager to make the ‘shehzada’ the Prime Minister.”

“We know that the Congress is a disciple (‘mureed’) of the Congress. This partnership of Pakistan and the Congress has now been completely exposed. The enemies of the country don’t want a strong government in India. They want a weak and corrupt government, like the one that existed before 2014,” he said. 

The PM’s remarks came after Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former minister in Imran Khan’s cabinet, shared a video of Rahul Gandhi with the text: “Rahul on fire…”.

Referring to the more than ten dossiers that were sent to Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Prime Minister Modi said that the difference is that his government does not bow down. 

At a rally on Wednesday, the PM had said that while dossiers were sent during earlier governments, the India of today sends a dose to the “masters of terror” and attacks them on their own turf. 

‘Politics Of Appeasement Continues’

In Thursday’s rally, PM Modi also hit out at the Congress and the INDIA alliance over Salman Khurshid’s niece Maria Alam’s calling for a ‘vote jihad’ and claming that it was necessary to replace the BJP-led government at the centre. 

“Another plan by the INDI alliance has been exposed by one of its own leaders.  Now, the INDI alliance has asked Muslims to engage in ‘vote jihad’. We had heard about ‘love jihad’ and ‘land Jihad’ and now we are hearing this. This was said by a person who belongs to a highly qualified Muslim family, whose members hold high posts in the Congress,” the PM said.

“This call was not made by someone who studied in a madrassa. You all know what the meaning of jihad is and who it is done against. The INDI alliance has said all Muslims should vote together. This is an insult to democracy and the Constitution and no Congress leader has condemned it so far. This is also a push for their politics of appeasement,” he added.

In the absence of an opposition candidate in Surat, 25 of 26 seats in Gujarat will vote in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday.