Palanpur/Kalol/Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi sparred in battleground Gujarat on Sunday where the former claimed leaders of the Opposition party held a secret meeting with current and former Pakistani officials a day ahead of Mani Shankar Aiyar's "neech" jibe against him.
PM Modi also raised questions about the alleged appeal by former director general (DG) of the Pakistan Army Sardar Arshad Rafiq for making senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel the chief minister of Gujarat.
Following are some of the top quotes by PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi:
- "There were media reports yesterday about a meeting at Mani Shankar Aiyar's house. It was attended by Pakistan's high commissioner, Pakistan's former foreign minister, India's former vice president and former prime minister Manmohan Singh," PM Modi told an election rally at Palanpur.
- The meeting at Aiyar's house continued for almost three hours, PM Modi said, adding "the next day, Mani Shankar Aiyar said Modi is neech (a vile man). This is a serious matter."
- "(On one hand) Pakistan Army's former DG is interfering in Gujarat's election, on the other, Pakistani people are holding a meeting at Mani Shankar Aiyar's house. After that meeting, people of Gujarat, backward communities, poor people and Modi were insulted. Don't you think such events raise doubts?" PM Modi said.
On the other hand, Gandhi, who began his second day of campaigning for the second phase of poll scheduled for December 14 after offering prayers at Lord Krishna's Ranchhod Raiji Mandir, claimed PM Modi frequently changed the election planks and now he was left with nothing to speak about but himself and the Congress.
- "You claim you have finished the Congress. If it were so, why would you devote half your speech to Congress and half to yourself?" Rahul asked the PM.
- "I have respect for the post of the PM. He can say whatever he wants to, I will not use a single (galat shabd) wrong word against him," Gandhi told an election rally in Kalol.
- Gandhi also said "truth has cornered" the PM and that the Congress will "defeat the BJP, not by anger, but with love".
- He accused PM Modi of making "false promises" to people about employment, depositing Rs 15 lakh in the accounts of each person from black money brought back from abroad, and remunerative prices for farm produce.
- Gandhi alleged the Modi government gave benefits to the tune of Rs 33,000 crore to the Tatas for the Nano car project. "Over six-and-a-half lakh acres were acquired by the government and thousands of acres given to the Tatas. People did not get water from Narmada, but the Tatas got," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
