Oppn leaders take on PM as he accepts Kohli’s ‘fitness India challenge’

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 24

Moments after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepted the fitness challenge thrown at him by cricketer Virat Kohli, Opposition leaders dared the PM to accept the more important challenges of governance too.

The first to react was Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who said: “Dear PM, glad to see you accept the @imVkohli fitness challenge. Here’s one from me: Reduce fuel prices or the Congress will do a nationwide agitation and force you to do so. I look forward to your response.”

The Congress also slammed the PM for tweeting on the fitness challenge by Kohli, but keeping silent on civilian deaths due to police firing in Tuticorin. “We wish to ask the PM if he considers the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister fit to resign in the wake of what happened in Tuticorin. And we also wonder why the PM has nothing to say on these deaths?” Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said today.

Another Congress leader, Randeep Surjewala, tweeted telling the PM to take up the challenge of granting “MSP fitness of cost plus 50 per cent profit to India’s farmers as you promised; anti-corruption fitness by bringing back Rs 80 lakh crore of black money from abroad as you promised punishing the corrupt in your government for various scams and national security fitness by stopping Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and Chinese incursion in Doklam, next to Arunachal border and elsewhere.”

Among other Opposition leaders who took on the PM today over the fitness challenge issue were CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, who asked the PM to stop media stunts and accept real challenges.

“Modi’s tryst with crude prices should remind us of that old dictum—‘You know who is swimming naked when the tide runs out’. Now he is trying to distract us with newer tamashas like fitness challenge,” Yechury said while RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav said PM Modi should first fill empty stomachs of people and give jobs to them. 

Trouble for Hrithik 

Mumbai: Actor Hrithik Roshan has gotten into trouble with the Mumbai police after he accepted the fitness challenge posed by Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on social media. The videos of him on Twitter riding a bicycle on Mumbai’s streets minus a helmet also showed him using a mobile phone while on the move.  “This is called violation of traffic rules. @MumbaiPolice what you are going to do now?” a Twitter user wrote. The Mumbai police responded to the user’s tweet: “Please share the location for us to inform the traffic division concerned.” tns

While we have nothing against accepting fitness challenge from @imVkohli . I urge you to accept the challenge to provide jobs to young, relief to farmers, promise of no violence against dalits & minorities. Would you accept my challenge @narendramodi Sir?

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) May 24, 2018

Dear PM,

Glad to see you accept the @imVkohli fitness challenge. Heres one from me:

Reduce Fuel prices or the Congress will do a nationwide agitation and force you to do so.

I look forward to your response.#FuelChallenge

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 24, 2018

I have accepted the #FitnessChallenge by @ra_THORe sir. Now I would like to challenge my wife @AnushkaSharma , our PM @narendramodi ji and @msdhoni Bhai for the same. ?? #HumFitTohIndiaFit #ComeOutAndPlay pic.twitter.com/e9BAToE6bg

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 23, 2018

Challenge accepted, Virat! I will be sharing my own #FitnessChallenge video soon. @imVkohli #HumFitTohIndiaFit https://t.co/qdc1JabCYb

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 24, 2018