Modi taunts rivals for being ‘popular’ in Pakistan
'3 AKs are very popular in Pakistan: AK-47, AK Antony & AK-49,' tweets BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi
Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
HIRANAGAR:
“3 AKs are very popular in Pakistan: AK-47, AK Antony & AK-49,” Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi tweeted on Wednesday, referring to assault rifle, Union Defence Minister AK Antony and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal (dubbed Kejriwal ‘AK-49’ in a swipe at his brief term of 49 days as Chief Minister of Delhi).
“These three AKs are sustaining terrorism in Kashmir and other parts of India,” he told a fervent crowd in the town of Hiranagar, Indian Kashmir. It was one of 185 Bharat Vijay rallies that the Gujarat chief minister will address throughout the country.
“The wind has turned,” Modi cried out during the rally. Referring to the BJP’s electoral symbol, he declared, “This time, the lotus will bloom here.”
The rally was in sharp contrast to Modi’s comparatively restrained December 2013 Lalkar rally in Indian Kashmir, as he disparaged his rivals. He slammed Antony and Kejriwal for ‘helping the country’s enemy’, Pakistan. When the Indian army made ‘unambiguously clear’ last year that Pakistani troops had ‘butchered eight jawans’ in Poonch, Modi said, Antony came to Pakistan’s rescue by saying in parliament that the assailants were unidentified men in Pakistani combat uniform.
Regarding Kejriwal, he said, “This AK-49 in his website shows Kashmir as a part of Pakistan. And his close aide wants referendum in Kashmir.”
The Congress party was not spared. “Whenever I speak of development, the Congress counters it with false claims on secularism,” Modi said. He targeted Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi over his comment that Congress ‘is a thought’, retorting, “Dear Shehzada, this country has reached the state it is in because of your thoughts.”
Modi raised the issue of the alleged exodus of Kashmiri pandits from the state and also the deaths of soldiers on the Line of Control. “Terrorists didn’t just kill people in [Indian Kashmir], they attacked Kashmiriyat and struck at the core of humanity,” he said.
He asserted that Pakistan-backed terrorists had carried out hundreds of bloodbaths in Indian Kashmir including the one in September 2013 when nine soldiers and innocent civilians were killed in attacks in Hiranagar and Samba.
The nationalist leader said he would promote democracy and equality if he came to power at elections, which kick off next month. “We will follow humanity, democracy and Kashmiri-ness, the path shown by Vajpayee,” Modi told the gathering, referring to the 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, as he asked voters to ‘trust’ him in a state that sends six MPs to the national parliament in New Delhi.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2014.
“3 AKs are very popular in Pakistan: AK-47, AK Antony & AK-49,” Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi tweeted on Wednesday, referring to assault rifle, Union Defence Minister AK Antony and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal (dubbed Kejriwal ‘AK-49’ in a swipe at his brief term of 49 days as Chief Minister of Delhi).
“These three AKs are sustaining terrorism in Kashmir and other parts of India,” he told a fervent crowd in the town of Hiranagar, Indian Kashmir. It was one of 185 Bharat Vijay rallies that the Gujarat chief minister will address throughout the country.
“The wind has turned,” Modi cried out during the rally. Referring to the BJP’s electoral symbol, he declared, “This time, the lotus will bloom here.”
The rally was in sharp contrast to Modi’s comparatively restrained December 2013 Lalkar rally in Indian Kashmir, as he disparaged his rivals. He slammed Antony and Kejriwal for ‘helping the country’s enemy’, Pakistan. When the Indian army made ‘unambiguously clear’ last year that Pakistani troops had ‘butchered eight jawans’ in Poonch, Modi said, Antony came to Pakistan’s rescue by saying in parliament that the assailants were unidentified men in Pakistani combat uniform.
Regarding Kejriwal, he said, “This AK-49 in his website shows Kashmir as a part of Pakistan. And his close aide wants referendum in Kashmir.”
The Congress party was not spared. “Whenever I speak of development, the Congress counters it with false claims on secularism,” Modi said. He targeted Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi over his comment that Congress ‘is a thought’, retorting, “Dear Shehzada, this country has reached the state it is in because of your thoughts.”
Modi raised the issue of the alleged exodus of Kashmiri pandits from the state and also the deaths of soldiers on the Line of Control. “Terrorists didn’t just kill people in [Indian Kashmir], they attacked Kashmiriyat and struck at the core of humanity,” he said.
He asserted that Pakistan-backed terrorists had carried out hundreds of bloodbaths in Indian Kashmir including the one in September 2013 when nine soldiers and innocent civilians were killed in attacks in Hiranagar and Samba.
The nationalist leader said he would promote democracy and equality if he came to power at elections, which kick off next month. “We will follow humanity, democracy and Kashmiri-ness, the path shown by Vajpayee,” Modi told the gathering, referring to the 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, as he asked voters to ‘trust’ him in a state that sends six MPs to the national parliament in New Delhi.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2014.