The war of words between the Congress and BJP continued on Tuesday over the latter’s move to charge Rs5 per head for attending Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Hyderabad.
While the Congress said that the ‘listening tax’ imposed showed the true value of Modi, BJP responded saying people were not ready to listen to Congress leaders even if they pay them.
“Baba Pravachan ticket Rs100-100,000. Cinema ticket Rs200-500 even for box office flop. Ticket to hear a CM Rs5. Market discovers true value,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari tweeted. Another tweet from him read, “BJP’s listening tax Rs5 maybe market discovery price. What would be speaking tax imposed on 1.2 billionIJ Monitising democracy/ pure fascism!”
Finance Minister P Chidambaram also took a jibe on the BJP’s decision saying that there would be no charge on the party’s rallies of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi or the Prime Minister.
“I would not react on what is the popularity measure of any other leader (Narendra Modi), but I assure you whenever Congress does a rally whether by party president Sonia Gandhi, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, or the Prime Minister, we will not charge Rs5,” he said.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was accompanying Chidambaram to Jaipur, said, “There is no reason to give unnecessary importance to their popularity stunt like Rs5 ticket for Modi’s rally.”
The BJP was quick in responding. Party spokesperson Meenakshi lekhi said, “Probably no one would even spend 1 paisa to listen to them (Congress) in rallies.” Another spokesperson of the party, Prakash Javadekar, added, “I can understand Manish Tewari’s heartburn as people are eager to listen to BJP leaders by paying fees and not listen to Congress leaders even if they are ready to pay the audience.”
Former BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu said Congress was rattled by Modi. “They are not able to digest the growing popularity of Modi. That is why they are making such allegations. They are trying to hit below the belt,” Naidu told reporters in Hyderabad.
In Delhi, party spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain accused the ruling party of hiding behind the “blanket” of secularism to clandestinely grab votes. He also gave credit to Narendra Modi Government for keeping Gujarat riot-free since 2002.
Asked if the use of the word blanket instead of burqa (veil) as done by Modi was a climb down by the BJP, Hussain only said now use the term blanket.
Hussain batted for Modi and maintained that if the BJP has faced the brickbats since the 2002 Gujarat riots it should also get the applause for no riots taking place in the State since then. “Today there is peace in Gujarat and our political opponents are disturbed by this,” Hussain said.
The main Opposition charged that 13,000 riots have taken place under Congress rule since Independence and insisted that it has no moral right to talk about riots. BJP said it does not believe in wooing a particular community to get votes.