'Pakistan eager that 'shehzada' takes my place'; PM Modi’s swipe at Rahul Gandhi

Anand (Gujarat), May 2

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday dubbed the Congress a “disciple” of Pakistan, and said the neighbouring country was eager to make the ‘shehzada’ of the grand old party the next prime minister of India.

His comments came amid reports that Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former minister in Imran Khan’s cabinet in Pakistan, shared a video featuring Rahul Gandhi on his social media handle and praised him.

“Pakistan is crying because the Congress is dying here. Pakistani leaders are praying for the Congress. Pakistan is eager to make ‘shehzada’ (referring to Rahul Gandhi) the next prime minister. This is not surprising because we already know that the Congress is Pakistan’s ‘mureed’ (disciple). The partnership between Pakistan and the Congress has been exposed. It shows the country’s enemies want a weak government in India, not a strong one,” Modi said.

Addressing a poll rally in Anand town of central Gujarat in support of BJP candidates for Anand and Kheda Lok Sabha seats, Modi also took a dig at the Congress over opposition leader Salman Khurshid’s niece Maria Alam’s call for ‘vote jihad’.

“Now, the INDI alliance calls for ‘vote jihad’. We have so far heard about ‘love jihad’ and ‘land jihad’. This (vote jihad) is said by a person who belongs to an educated Muslim family, not by someone who studied in a madrasa. I hope you all know what the meaning of jihad is. This is an insult to democracy and not a single Congress leader has condemned it,” he said.

He alleged that the Congress wants to change the country’s Constitution to give reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes communities to Muslims.