New Delhi: At his campaign rally in Maharashtra's Wardha on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a thinly veiled potshot at Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad, saying that some leaders have fled to a "minority-dominated" seat to escape "Hindu anger".
PM Modi accused Congress of coming up with the phrase 'Hindu terror' and said the party and 'insulted' Hindus and their '5000-year-old culture'. “When you heard the phrase ‘Hindu terror’, did it hurt you deeply or not? In thousands of years of history, is there any instance of Hindus committing a terror act?” Modi asked the audience in his campaign speech.
“Congress has insulted Hindus, it has tried to put a stain on the country’s mainstream. It has committed the sin of denigrating Indian citizens in front of the world,” Modi said.
“Congress has understood this themselves that the country has made up its mind to punish it. And that’s why politicians are leaving their battle ground and running off. Those who they had called terrorists, are now awake,” he added. Without taking Gandhi's name, Modi said opposition leaders were scared to contest where majority population dominated and were running off to constituencies where majority population was in the minority.
Modi referred to the recent special NIA court acquittal of Samjhauta Express blast accused Swami Assemanand and others, and said the judgment had “debunked the Congress conspiracy” of ‘Hindu terror’. “How can a community known for peace, brotherhood and harmony be linked with terrorism?” Modi said.
Asaduddin Owaisi, president of AIMIM, tweeted over the PM’s religious comments and questioned the validity of the Model Code of Conduct. "Remember those days when there was something called a Model Code of Conduct in this country? If the ECI says this is not a violation of the MCC then I have some things to say in my public meetings too..."
On Sunday Congress announced that Gandhi, in addition to contesting his traditional Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh, would also fight Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad in Kerala. Congress unit in Kerala had requested Gandhi to contest polls from the seat — considered safe for Congress in the state — to revitalize party cadre down South.
The announcement of Gandhi’s candidature was met with dismay from Left parties that maintain an understanding with Congress at the Centre in their unified opposition to the BJP. Wayanad, that has a high Muslim, Christian and tribal population, is considered a safe bet for Gandhi.
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