MUMBAI: Maharashtra Congress leader Sheikh Hussain has said that he does not regret making highly objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in protest against the questioning of Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate in the National herald money laundering case. Hussain has been booked after an FIR was filed against him in Nagpur for his alleged offensive comments against the Prime Minister.
Hussain also exuded confidence that his party will fight against any action taken against him. "I have not said anything that an FIR should have been registered. I delivered the speech based on the party line. The last sentence that I said, I used an idiom. There are so many things that are said as idioms, I just said that," Hussain was quoted as saying by ANI.
He also said there was nothing "regrettable" about his remark. "I have said nothing regrettable. Our leaders are being served ED notices every day. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been summoned. Aren't there people in the BJP? And the people who switch from BJP to Congress are given ED notices, while the opposite is happening when someone switches from Congress to BJP," he said.
"If there will be action, we will see how our party fights against it. The party will fight. I did not speak anything derogatory. I did not make any personal remark," the Congress leader said.
A case has been registered against him at the Gittikhadan Police Station in Nagpur under Sections 294 (obscene acts and songs) and 504 of the IPC (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).
Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union Minister Anurag Thakur hit back, saying his statements show the "mentality of the party" and reflect that they are "frustrated". Thakur said, "Making derogatory remarks against the Prime Minister shows the mentality of the Congress party and also that the party is frustrated today. They should apologise."
Enumerating the work done by PM Modi "in times of disaster", the Minister said that he gave strong leadership to the country during such times. "In politics, one can express their opinion but offensive words should not be used. People of the country have made him PM twice. In times of disaster, PM Modi has given strong leadership. He led our way through COVID and got 23,000 students rescued from a war zone (Ukraine)," he said.
