Proud to work like ‘donkey’ for my 125 cr masters: Modi
BAHRAICH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday gave a new twist to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘Gujarat donkey’ jibe, saying he was proud to work more than a donkey for his 125 crore ‘maaliks’ (owners).
Addressing a public meeting here, the PM said while political attacks during poll time were expected, the UP CM had even discriminated against animals.
“Akhileshji aaj aap jinke gale lage ho, unhi ki UPA sarkar ne gadhe pe dak ticket jaari kiya tha … (the UPA government, run by those leaders you have embraced today, had issued a postal stamp on donkeys in 2013,” Modi said.
On Wednesday Akhilesh, at a public meeting in this India-Nepal border district, had continued his ‘donkey jibe’ he had first made in Rae Bareli on February 20.
“Bahraich main baagh hain, cheetah hain … par main gadhon ka jikra nahi karna chahta (There are lions and cheetahs in Bahraich but I don’t want to talk about donkeys),” Akhilesh said.
In Rae Bareli, Akhilesh had advised Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan (without taking his name) to not advertise for “donkeys of Gujarat”. Bachchan figures in a Gujarat advertisement to promote tourism to the wild ass sanctuary there.
On Thursday Modi gave a spin to the donkey attack, ridiculing Akhilesh for running down the animal and then going on to say that he was happy to be more workaholic than even a donkey.
“Gadha maalik ka wafadar hota hai. Jitna kaam le lo karta hai aur kam se kam kharche wala hota hai. Gadha kitna bhi beemar ho, kitna hi khali pet ho, kitna hi thaka hua ho, agar maalik ussey kaam leta hai toh woh kaam ko pura karke rehta hai (donkey is loyal to its owner, it works even empty stomach or when unwell … without complaining ... doesn’t rest till the work is finished,” Modi said.
Modi added, “Akhileshji, the 125 crore people of this country are my masters. I work as much as they want me to, without break, even when I am sick or hungry … I feel proud to slog even more than a donkey to serve the people.”
Amid huge applause the PM said, “Gadhe ki peeth par cheeni ho ya chuna, gadha kabhi bhed nahi karta hain … yeh toh who log karte hain jo bhrashtachaar main doobey rehtey hain (a don key doesn’t discriminate between different kinds of loads put on him, unlike those who are neck deep in corruption.”
The PM also slammed Akh ilesh for targeting ‘Gujarat’s don keys’. “Akhileshji the Gujarat you hate so much is the same state where Dayanand Saras wati, Mahatma Gandhi and Sar dar Patel were born … where Lord Krishna chose to settle … so Akhileshji this is our country … this much hate doesn’t suit you.”
Appealing for change, the Prime Minister accused the SP government of converting Bah raich, that derives its land from the name of Lord Brahma, into a den of corruption.