With controversy arising out of objectionable statement given against Gujarat chief minister by Imran Masood, Congress candidate from Saharanpur, still not subsided, the mouth canon of senior Congress leader and Union minister, Beni Prasad Verma as well as Samajwadi Party leader, Azam Khan, ignited fresh controversies when one of them dubbed Narendra Modi as the “biggest goon” of RSS and BJP president Rajnath Singh as his “slave”, triggering strong reaction from the Opposition party, another called the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate as an elder brother of a “dog’s pup”.
Addressing an election meeting in Sadullanagar township at Gonda on Tuesday evening, Congress candidate, Beni Prasad Verma said Modi is the “biggest goonda” (goon) of RSS as the language being used by him in elections is not normally used in democracy. He said while Mahatma Gandhi gave his life for secularism, RSS got him assassinated. “Modi could not have become prime ministerial candidate without the nod of Rajnath Singh. This proves that Rajnath Singh is not the president of the party but Modi’s slave (ghulam),” Verma said.
Reacting sharply to Verma’s remark, former BJP President Nitin Gadkari said such statements were a result of Congress’ “frustration”. Party Vice-President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said several Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Salman Khurshid have used language which is “inappropriate”. “They have crossed all limits. A Congress leader recently threatened to cut Modi into pieces. Such statements only vitiate the peaceful atmosphere during elections,” Naqvi said.
During his speech, Verma also said that BJP and RSS are a threat to the country and everyone should think about it before voting. The union minister said at the time of Godhra riots, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was going to dismiss the Gujarat government but Advani saved Modi. However, now the same veteran BJP leader found it difficult to get himself a party ticket, Beni pointed.
Meanwhile in an escalation of vitriol against rivals in the run-up to the lok Sabha polls, SP leader Azam Khan called Narendra Modi an elder brother of a “dog’s pup”. “We don’t want your sympathy elder brother... kutte ke bachche ka bada bhai Narendra Modi ji(elder brother of a dog’s son Narendra Modi ji,” Khan, who trained his guns at Modi, said at an election rally in Rampur on Tuesday night. Against the backdrop of the attack against Modi for failing to quell the 2002 post-Godhra riots, Khan went on to say to that he did not want any regrets from the Gujarat Chief Minister or Rajnath Singh. “I regret that Rajnath Singh ji said that we(BJP) would apologise if they made any mistake,” he added.