Modi dismisses ‘arrogant’ Rahul’s bid for PM’s chair
HITTING OUT In separate rallies, Modi criticises the Congress party and its chief BANGARPET/CHIKMAGLUR:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dismissed Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s bid to become his successor next year, and called him immature and ‘naamdar’ who was showing ‘arrogance’ by declaring his PM-ambitions.
Modi did not name Gandhi and said “someone” made an important declaration yesterday that “I am going to be the PM”.
Addressing an election rally in Bangarapet, Modi said, “He came like those bullies, barging his way ahead when there are others who have many years of experience. How can someone just declare himself as the PM? This is simply nothing but arrogance.”
Modi said meetings are being held to remove him as PM and wondered how “big leaders” who attend will react to this sudden announcement by one ‘naamdaar’ that he is going to be the PM.
Gandhi on Tuesday said that he was ready to be the PM if the Congress emerges as the largest party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, acknowledging for the first time that he would be willing to take the top job at a time when several Opposition parties are trying to cobble together a federal front against the ruling BJP.
“The ‘naamdar’ who does not have confidence in his alliance partners... who doesn’t care for Congress’ internal democracy, whose arrogance has reached cloud seven, and is declaring himself that he would be the prime minister in 2019 . .... will the country ever accept such an immature ‘naamdar’ leader?” Modi said.
He also launched a no-holdsbarred attack on the Congress, calling it a “deal” party.
“The Congress is only interested in deals. And I am not saying this...it is a Congress MP and former CM Shri Moily who said this. When tickets were sold, he said that Congress will have to solve their ‘money problem’ and also blamed the PWD minister for deal-making,” he said.
Modi said Congress culture, communalism, casteism, crime, corruption, and the contractor system were six evils that the Congress brought on the nation. “The Congress patronises courtiers who only bow to Delhi and not the aspirations of the people,” he said.
At his second rally in Chikmaglur, Modi accused Congress of thinking only about power and blamed former PM Indira Gandhi and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi for doing little despite winning parliamentary elections from the state.
“The Congress party, after defeats in every election, are busy criticising the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the Election Commission (EC). For them, EVM and EC are wrong and only Congress is right,” Modi said.
At another rally in Belagavi, the PM said he failed to understand why Modi is the Congress’ only agenda.
“The chief minister was campaigning for a Congress candidate whose name is also Narendra... but he only kept saying Narendra Modi and praised Narendra Modi too...the truth seems to have come out,” he said.