Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

Modi tears into Cong, says it applauded Saeed release

- ▪ letters@hindustant­imes.com

BHUJ/RAJKOT: Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked its vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday why his party applauded the release of a terrorist in Pakistan and why he hugged the Chinese ambassador during the Doklam standoff. Modi, who started his campaign for the Gujarat elections with a rally in Kutch district’s Bhuj town, also referred to his humble beginnings as a tea seller and attacked the opposition party over a series of scams that were reported when the previous UPA government was in power at the Centre.

BHUJ/RAJKOT: Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked its vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday why his party applauded the release of a terrorist in Pakistan and why he hugged the Chinese ambassador during the Doklam standoff.

Modi, who started his campaign for the Gujarat elections with a rally in Kutch district’s Bhuj town, also referred to his humble beginnings as a tea seller and attacked the opposition party over a series of scams that were reported when the previous UPA government was in power at the Centre.

“You are happy to hug Chinese ambassador, you are clapping on the release of Hafiz Saeed, you cannot respect Indian Army’s surgical strike. But why did you speak up about it? You could have just remained silent,” PM Modi said. After the release of LeT founder and Mumbai terror

You are happy to hug Chinese ambassador, you are clapping on the release of Hafiz Saeed, you cannot respect Indian Army’s surgical strike. But why did you speak up about it? You could have just remained silent NARENDRA MODI, PM

attack mastermind Saeed by a Pakistan court, Gandhi had tweeted: “Narendrabh­ai, baat nahi bani. Terror mastermind is free. President Trump just delinked Pak military funding from LeT. Hugplomacy fail. More hugs urgently needed.”

Gandhi’s tweet was targeted at the bonhomie between Modi and Trump, whose hugs at public events have come to define a new warmth between the two leaders.

Later in the day, Modi said in Rajkot: “The Congress dislikes me because of my poor origin. Can a party stoop so low? Yes, a person belonging to a poor family has become the prime minister. They do not fail to hide their contempt for this fact. Yes, I sold tea but I did not sell the nation.”

The PM also said the Congress, which is making all out efforts to dislodge the long-ruling BJP in Gujarat, never accepted any Gujarati leader and had defamed the state.

“It was with the support of the Jan Sangh that a person from the Patel community, Babubhai Patel, became the chief minister. The Congress did not like this and ensured that Babubhai Jashbhai’s government did not last. When Keshubhai Patel, a son of Saurashtra, became the chief minister, the Congress tried everything to dislodge him. They repeated the same disruptive tactic with Anandiben Patel, a daughter of the Patel community. The Congress has defamed Gujarat always,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

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