“Your Father’s Life Ended As ‘Corrupt No. 1′”PM Modi
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on Congress President Rahul Gandhi as he said at a rally in Uttar Pradesh that the life of his father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, ended as “corrupt number 1”.
PM Modi also referred to the Congress chief’s incessant attacks on him alleging corruption in the Rafale jet deal, saying Mr Gandhi’s only aim was to tarnish his image. “Your father was termed ‘Mr Clean’ by his courtiers, but his life ended as ”Bhrashtachari No 1” (corrupt number 1),” PM Modi said at a rally in Uttar Pradesh.
PM Modi was apparently referring to the Bofors case that devastated the Congress government of Rajiv Gandhi in the 1980s and ruined the party’s prospects of returning to power for years. The scandal swirled around allegations that Swedish defence manufacturer Bofors paid huge kickbacks to Rajiv Gandhi and others for the sale of its artillery gun to India. The High Court said there was no evidence that Rajiv Gandhi had accepted bribes.
Rajiv Gandhi – UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s husband and Rahul Gandhi’s father – was assassinated in 1991.PM Modi, who is seeking a second term in the ongoing national elections against a coalition of opposition parties including the Congress, said “these people” wanted to install a weak government by tarnishing his image.
“By tarnishing my image and by making me look small, these people want to form an unstable and a weak government in the country,” he said.”The naamdaar (dynast) must clearly listen that this Modi was not born with a golden spoon, nor was he born in any royal family,” he said, referring to Mr Gandhi.
The Congress and other opposition parties claim that the Narendra Modi government reworked a UPA-era deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France’s Dassault Aviation at a much higher price tag and awarded a Rs. 30,000-crore offset contract to industrialist Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence in spite of several stakeholders advising against it.
Although the allegations have been denied by the centre, Reliance and the French government, Rahul Gandhi has promised an investigation into the case if voted to power in the Lok Sabha elections.
“Modi Ji, the battle is over. Your Karma awaits you,” said Congress president Rahul Gandhi, after PM Modi said former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was ‘Bhrashtachari No. 1’ Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘karma’ awaited him and that the battle was over.He was responding to PM Modi’s jibe that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was Bhrashtachari No. 1
Taking to twitter, Mr. Gandhi said, “Modi Ji, the battle is over. Your Karma awaits you. Projecting your inner beliefs about yourself onto my father won’t protect you. All my love and a huge hug. Rahul.”
The war of words between Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Modi came a day before voting for fifth phase of polls takes place on Monday, with Mr. Gandhi’s own constituency, Amethi, going to polls as well.
The party’s core committee member and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram also hit back at the PM in a series of messages on Twitter.
“Mr. Modi has crossed all limits of propriety and decency by defaming a man (Rajiv Gandhi) who died in 1991,” Mr. Chidambaram wrote. He added that the charges against Rajiv Gandhi were dropped by the Delhi High Court.
Mr. Chidambaram wrote: “Does Mr Modi read anything at all? Does he know that the charge against Mr. Rajiv Gandhi was thrown out by the High Court, Delhi as ‘completely baseless?’”
The PM’s remarks on former PM Rajiv Gandhi show the extent of his desperation and fear of defeat. He also pointed out that it was a BJP government that decided not to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the said HC judgment.
Meanwhile,TMC chief Mamata Banerjee hits out at Narendra Modi over his jibe at Rajiv Gandhi. “The comments made by ‘Expiry PM’ ModiJi against fmr PM Rajiv GandhiJi are very unfortunate. RajivJi dedicated himself & laid down his life for the motherland. I condemn the language used & the audacity of such a statement,” she tweeted. PM Modi in a rally on Saturday had called the former prime minister as “corrupt no.1” sparking a slugfest with several opposition party leaders.
(With Agency Inputs ).
