GANDHINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused a group of Congress leaders of meeting Pakistan’s High Commissioner at party leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s residence before the latter called him (Modi) “neech.”

Addressing an election rally at Sanand, Modi said the meeting at Aiyar’s residence was also attended by former Indian vice president Hamid Ansari and former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Continuing his attack on the Congress, Modi said: “There was a meeting convened at Aiyar’s residence where Pakistan’s High Commissioner, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ansari and Manmohan Singh were present. The meeting lasted three hours.

“The next day Mani Shankar said I am a ‘neech’,” said the prime minister.

Modi went on: “I ask you, brothers and sisters, why did they have to have a meeting with Pakistani officials. Pakistan is our enemy. You (Congress) meet them and the next day call me ‘neech.’

“Isn’t this a thing to worry about? Does it not raise doubts? There is something dubious here, isn’t it? You should have ensured the presence of government officials at the meeting. Why are you holding meetings with our enemy neighbour in secrecy?”

“Isn’t calling me ‘neech’ insulting to Gujarat? Isn’t it insulting to the country? Insulting to the government whom the people voted to power?”

The Prime Minister added that a former Pakistan Army general, Arshad Rafiq, has announced that he favoured Congress MP Ahmed Patel as the Gujarat chief minister.

“Why? You are in Pakistan. Why are you interested in our country’s affairs? “Brothers and sisters, isn’t this alarming? All this and the meeting at Aiyar’s residence. What is all this? My friends, you should give me a promise that you will root out the Congress and give a thumping victory to the BJP at every booth in Ahmedabad.”

Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that he could not understand Prime Minister Narendra Modis obsession with the Congress, despite his claims to have wiped the party out of India.

“On one side, Modiji says that he has wiped Congress out of India. If that is so, why he ends up speaking about the Congress half the time in his election rallies,” he said at a public meeting here, reiterating that the election is neither about him nor Modi but about the future of Gujarat and Gujaratis.

Gandhi said that although Modi uses foul language against him but he would never resort to such language.

“The Prime Minister uses foul language against me, but I would never do that because Rahul Gandhi respects the office of Prime Minister. I am not going to utter a single word against the Prime Minister.

“This is what our party, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel have taught us,” he said.

Gandhi said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had started out to contest the state assembly elections on “Narmada waters” but had to take a “left turn” just a few days later when the common people said they got no water from Narmada dam and “all the water went to Tata’s Nano car plant.”

Meanwhile, Dabhoi, one of the 36 constituencies of Gujarat where Muslims can influence the results, appears to be a hard nut to crack for the BJP as the social dynamics and tradition of “no repeat” favours the Congress, prompting the saffron party to rake up anti-Muslim fervour in a bid to polarise the voters.

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Shailesh Mehta alias Sotta Bhai hit the headlines a few days back with communally provocative remarks.

Indo-Asian News Service