New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) The BJP on Monday hit back at Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, over his remark that Narendra Modi ‘cannot go anywhere’, saying that Rahul Gandhi’s statement showed he had accepted that the Prime Minister would remain in power.
The remarks came after LoP Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a gathering at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, said, “PM Modi cannot go anywhere. Even if he wants to leave, we won’t let him. After Gyanesh Kumar, we will come after you, and legal action will follow.”
Speaking to IANS, BJP MP Damodar Agarwal said that the people of the country were concerned that, after repeated failures, “Rahul Baba” might flee to Italy out of fear of the law or the National Herald case.
“He is worried that he himself might have to flee, which is why he had the audacity to make such a statement about Prime Minister Modi. Modi was born and raised on this soil and is serving the country. He is determined to continue serving the nation until his last breath,” Agarwal said.
BJP National Spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said that Prime Minister Modi was not going anywhere and that Rahul Gandhi’s statement indicated that he had accepted this fact.
“PM Modi is not going anywhere. Rahul Gandhi says he won’t let him go, which means he has accepted that Modi will remain. What action will they take against a son of Mother India who is dedicated to serving the country, taking it on the path of progress and transforming India’s destiny and image?” Hussain said.
He further said that despite global tensions, India’s economy was performing well under PM Modi’s leadership.
“The whole world is facing conflicts. There is tension between Israel and Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz is closed. Despite all of this, the country’s economy is doing better under PM Modi’s leadership,” he added.
BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said that the Opposition was dreaming of things that would never come true.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the Lok Sabha elections three consecutive times. Moreover, wherever Assembly elections are being held in the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party has registered unprecedented victories. This is the mandate of the people. The people have every right to decide whom they want to elect and whom they do not,” he said.
“If the people reject the Congress and Rahul Gandhi and consider him an unsuccessful leader, how is anyone else to blame for that?” Khandelwal added.
Meanwhile, over the last decade, Opposition jibes, particularly from the Congress, have inadvertently provided the BJP with some of its biggest and most successful slogans and campaigns. One such example was the ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign in 2019, launched in response to LoP Gandhi’s ‘Chowkidar chor hai’ attack.
The grand old party appears to have done it again, handing the ruling party another potential war cry at a time when it is dealing with multiple issues in its third consecutive term in power.
PM Modi’s recent roadshow in Gujarat’s Banaskantha saw supporters waving posters carrying the message, ‘Modi kahin nahi jayega’, implying that he would continue to remain in power.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s reported remark, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega”, suggesting that the Prime Minister would eventually lose power, has also inadvertently provided the BJP with a fresh slogan.
It is not the first time that the BJP has turned Opposition criticism into a mass campaign. The party successfully embraced the “Chaiwala” remark during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and later launched the ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign in 2019, with party leaders wearing the phrase as a badge of honour to directly connect with voters.
The campaign also helped the BJP shift public attention away from issues such as the economy, unemployment and inflation and refocus the political conversation on its most popular face — Prime Minister Modi.
–IANS
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