DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Congress party of being a 'mureed' (follower) of Pakistan, claiming that the neighbouring country was eager to see the Congress leader, whom he referred to as 'shehzada', become the next prime minister of India.
Modi's remarks came a day after former Pakistani minister, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain shared a video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on social media and praised him.
The Prime Minister stated, "Pakistan is crying because Congress is dying here. Pakistani leaders are praying for Congress. Pakistan is eager to make 'shehzada' (referring to Rahul Gandhi) the next prime minister. This is not surprising because we already know that Congress is Pakistan's 'mureed' (disciple). The partnership between Pakistan and Congress has been exposed. It shows the country's enemies want a weak government in India, not a strong one."
During a poll rally in Anand, Gujarat, PM Modi also criticized the Congress party for opposition leader Salman Khurshid's niece Maria Alam's call for 'vote jihad'. He emphasized that this statement came from an educated Muslim family member, not someone who studied in a madrasa, and expressed his disappointment that no Congress leader had condemned it.
The Prime Minister further alleged that the Congress party aims to amend the country's Constitution to provide reservation for Muslims, taking away from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities. He challenged the Congress to put in writing that they would not change the Constitution to provide religion-based reservation or give backdoor quota to Muslims in states where they and their allies are in power.
Modi highlighted India's role as a peacemaker in the world today and guaranteed that he would work tirelessly to make India a developed country by 2047. He also mentioned that his government had provided tap water connections to 14 crore houses in the last 10 years, while Congress-led governments had only managed to provide the same to 3 crore houses in their 60 years of rule.