Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday used wordplay to attack the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, saying the first letters of the three parties spell 'sarab', prompting a furious reaction from the opposition at the comparison with alcohol.
Terming the SP-RLD-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh 'mahamilavat' (adulterated), Modi compared the opposition parties to 'sarab' -- the Hindi word for liquor is 'sharab'.
"The first letters of these three parties stand for 'sarab' which is bad for health," Modi said while launching the BJP's rally from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and called upon people to be wary of the "concoction".
But between 'sarab' and 'sharab' is a world of nuance.
While the Congress asked Modi to apologise for comparing the parties to liquor, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav accused him of spreading the "intoxication of hatred", saying he didn't know the difference between 'sharab' and 'sarab' (mirage).
Alleging that Modi had lowered political discourse, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "You should apologise to the country as you have insulted the poor by comparing opposition political parties to liquor. You should either take back your words or apologise." Yadav added that those who spread the "intoxication of hatred" do not know the difference between "sharab and sarab".
"Today the tele-prompter exposed that those who spread the intoxication of hatred do not know the difference between 'sharab' and 'sarab'.
"Sarab means mirage, which is a blurred dream which the BJP is showing for the past five years but never fulfilled. It is once against showing 'sarab' to people during elections," Akhilesh said in a tweet.
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