PM Modi hits out at Congress party, calls it 'mureed' of Pakistan

Rahul Gandhi, who was in Karnataka, said the PM cancelled his meetings after the alleged tapes of Revanna surfaced

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday described the Congress party as a "mureed" (disciple) of Pakistan and alleged that leaders in the neighbouring country were offering prayers for the ‘shehzada’, a reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, to make him the prime minister of India.

Addressing public meetings in Gujarat, slated for polling on May 7, Modi claimed that the "partnership” between the Congress and Pakistan had been "exposed”.

His remarks linking the Congress with Pakistan came a day after Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former minister in the previous government led by Imran Khan in Pakistan, reportedly shared a video featuring Gandhi on his social media handle and praised him.

 

"Pakistan is crying because the Congress is dying here. You all must have learnt that Pakistani leaders are now praying for the Congress. Pakistan is eager to make 'shehzada' (referring to Rahul Gandhi) the next prime minister. This is not surprising because we already know that the Congress is Pakistan's 'mureed' (disciple)," Modi said.

In the run-up to the December 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls, the prime minister had flagged a meeting held at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s residence attended by a former Pakistani foreign minister and its high commissioner to New Delhi, where former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Vice President M Hamid Ansari were also present. Singh had later sought an apology from Modi for indulging in innuendos and falsehoods.

At public meetings in Gujarat’s Junagadh and Anand, the prime minister said he wished to win the elections not to achieve his ambition but to accomplish “Modi’s mission”.

Congress leader Gandhi, who was in Karnataka on Thursday, accused Modi of cancelling his public meetings in the state and running away from Karnataka after the alleged sex tapes of Janata Dal (Secular) Hassan Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Prajwal Revanna surfaced.

He alleged that what Revanna did was not a “sex scandal” but “mass rape” and accused him of being a “mass rapist”. In Raichur, Gandhi alleged that Modi could have got Revanna arrested but instead, he allowed him to flee the country. He alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah knew about Revanna’s leaving the country, and demanded that a police case should be registered against Shah. Of the 28, the remaining 14 seats in Karnataka will go to polls on May 7.

At his Shivamogga and Raichur rallies, Gandhi said that if Shah knew about Revanna, then Modi was also aware of it.

“Why is Modi protecting him (Prajwal), why is he promoting him and why is he seeking to vote for him?" the Congress leader asked.

“All the agencies were with them, such as CBI, Customs, Immigration and ED. The PM knew about it, he could have arrested him (Prajwal) in a second, which he did not do and allowed him to flee," Gandhi said, adding that Modi shared the stage with Revanna and supported him.