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BJP dismisses Oppn meet as ‘photo op’
The remarks came on the day major opposition parties resolved to come together to fight the next general elections in a four-hour-long meeting in Patna
Jammu/New Delhi
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday dismissed a mega meeting of 32 Opposition leaders in Patna as a mere “photo session” and added that it was a public declaration that the Congress’s capabilities were insufficient to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The remarks came on the day major opposition parties resolved to come together to fight the next general elections in a four-hour-long meeting in Patna. The next meeting will be held in Shimla to chart the future course of action, the Opposition leaders announced in a joint press conference.
At a public rally in Jammu, Union home minister Amit Shah said Modi will become the PM for a third time in the elections next year, and that the BJP will get over 300 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha.
“Today, a photo session is going on in Patna...leaders of the opposition [parties] have assembled. They want to convey the message that they would challenge the BJP, NDA [National Democratic Alliance], and Modi...despite their attempts, unity among them is not possible. And even if they forge unity and go to the people, Modi with over 300 seats will again become the PM,” he said
Shah criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. “He is opposed to everything, be it [nullification of Constitution’s] Article 370 [that stripped Jammu & Kashmir of semi-autonomous status in 2019], Ram Temple [in Ayodhya], [criminalisation of] triple talaq [for instant divorce among a section of Muslims]...By doing so, he [Gandhi] has developed a tendency to oppose everything,” the minister said.
Shah listed the achievements of the BJP-led government over the last nine years, and drew parallels with that of the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) administration.“On one hand, there were scams of ₹12 lakh crore during the UPA rule...not a single allegation of corruption against the Modi government over nine years. Modi initiated a campaign against corruption. He ensured facilities for 600 million poor for which they waited for 70 years.”
Union minister Smriti Irani also took a swipe at the Opposition meeting, saying, “I thank Congress for publicly announcing that they cannot alone defeat PM Modi and that they need the support of others to do so.”
“It is hilarious that those people are getting together who want to signal to the nation that their own capabilities are insufficient in front of Modiji,” she added.
Hitting out at the parties that attended the meeting, BJP national president JP Nadda said that leaders jailed by former PM Indira Gandhi during the Emergency were now welcoming her grandson Rahul Gandhi.
Nadda said both Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who hosted the meeting, and his ally, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, were jailed during the Emergency as student leaders.
“Strange things are happening in politics today. Leaders jailed by former PM Indira Gandhi have now joined hands with her grandson Rahul Gandhi,” Nadda said at a public meeting in Odisha’s Kalahandi district.
Taking a shot at former BJP ally Uddhav Thackeray, Nadda said: “I saw Uddhav Thackeray reaching Patna to attend the opposition meeting. His father, ‘Hindu Hriday Samrat’ Balasaheb Thackeray was opposed to the Congress all along. Balasaheb had once said he will shut the ‘dukaan’ (referring to his political party Shiv Sena) rather than joining the Congress. Now, his son is closing the ‘dukaan’.”
