 "Cong Pak 'disciple'; neighbour eager to make 'shehzada' next India PM: Modi")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday dubbed the Congress party a "disciple" of Pakistan, and said the neighbouring country was eager to make the 'shehzada' of the grand old party the next prime minister of India.
His comments came amid reports that Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former minister in Imran Khan's cabinet in Pakistan, shared a video featuring Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his social media handle and praised him.
"Pakistan is crying because Congress is dying here. Pakistani leaders are praying for Congress. Pakistan is eager to make 'shehzada' (referring to Rahul Gandhi) the next prime minister.
This is not surprising because we already know that Congress is Pakistan's 'mureed' (disciple). The partnership between Pakistan and Congress has been exposed. It shows the country's enemies want a weak government in India, not a strong one," Modi said.
Addressing a poll rally in Anand town of central Gujarat in support of BJP candidates for Anand and Kheda Lok Sabha seats, PM Modi also took a dig at Congress over opposition leader Salman Khurshid's niece Maria Alam's call for 'vote jihad'.
"Now, the INDI alliance calls for 'vote jihad'. We have so far heard about 'love jihad' and 'land Jihad'. This (vote jihad) is said by a person who belonged to an educated Muslim family, not by someone who studied in a madrasa. I hope you all know what the meaning of jihad is. This is an insult to democracy and not a single Congress leader has condemned it," he said.
He alleged that the Congress wants to change the country's Constitution to give reservation of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities to Muslims.
The prime minister also challenged the Congress to give in writing that it will not change the Constitution to provide reservation on the basis of religion and that it will not give backdoor quota to Muslims in states where it and its allies are in power.
India is being seen as a peacemaker in the world today, he said, adding that it was his guarantee that he would work 24x7 to make India a developed country by 2047.
Modi said in the last 10 years, his government provided tap water connections to 140 mn houses, while the Congress-led dispensations gave it to just 30 mn houses in 60 years of its rule.