Congress leader Rahul Gandhi mocks PM Modi, then retracts

New Delhi, June 20

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a slipper being allegedly flung at the PM’s cavalcade in Varanasi and later took a U-turn.

Speaking at a press conference in Congress office earlier, Rahul Gandhi said “no one is afraid of the PM now.”

“The 56 inch chest.. Now I cannot give a number but it has come down to 30-32 inches…The balloon has been deflated. He (PM) will be psychologically frustrated because his style is intimidation. But that fear is gone. Someone in Varanasi threw a slipper at his cavalcade. Before elections anyone would have been afraid to do that. But now the fear is gone. Narendra Modi, the concept, has been demolished by the opposition,” Gandhi said.

He went on to add that had Modi been like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh who had humility, “he could have negotiated these new developments but he cannot because he cannot listen to anyone.”

“The opposition is very strong. These are very interesting times,” said the Rae Bareli MP.

Later following social media backlash, Rahul took a U-turn and spoke of non-violence.

“One more important thing which was left to be said in the press conference: Throwing slippers at Narendra Modi and his convoy is highly condemnable and a serious lapse in his security. Our protest against the policies of the government should be registered in a Gandhian way, there is no place for violence and hatred in democracy,” Rahul Gandhi said after making the earlier remarks at his press conference.