Don’t drag us into your poll debate, win on own strength, Pakistan tells Modi

Prime minister Narendra Modi's election charge that Congress is colluding with Pakistan to defeat the BJP in Gujarat was rubbished by Islamabad, which said it should not be dragged into India's domestic poll battles.

"India should stop dragging Pakistan into its electoral debate and win victories on own strength rather than fabricated conspiracies, which are utterly baseless and irresponsible," spokesperson of Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs Mohammad Faisal tweeted on Sunday.


Condemning Faisal's comment, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Completely abhor outside interference in India's internal affairs. Pakistan's promotion of terrorism in India is well known but Pakistan must stop giving us lessons, we are proud of our democracy."



Modi, in his poll speech, was referring to a Facebook post by the former director general of the Pakistan army Sardar Arshad Rafiq, saying that senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel should be the next Gujarat chief minister. The post drew sharp criticism from the BJP.

The Congress hit back at Modi, saying the real colluder with Pakistan is the BJP, whose government gave Pakistani intelligence officials access to the country's top air force base in Pathankot after a terror attack there.

"If he wants to fight the Gujarat elections in Pakistan, I want to ask who who invited people from the (Pakistani intelligence agency) ISI to come to one of India's most important defence bases in Pathankot," asked Congress spokesman RS Surjewala.