Imran’s remark about BJP win aimed to influence polls with ‘reverse swing’: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a swipe at his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan over his claim that Indo-Pak peace talks will have a better chance if the Bharatiya Janata Party wins in the Lok Sabha polls, saying it was an attempt by the former cricketer to influence the elections in India with his reverse swing.

Modi also noted that Khan had used a slogan targeting himduring Pakistan elections.

   

“We should not forget that Imran Khan was a cricketer andhis recent statement was an attempt at reverse swing to influence Indianelections. However, Indians know how to hit a ‘helicopter shot’ on a reverseswinging delivery,” the top BJP leader told The Times of India in an interviewpublished on Wednesday.

“We should also remember how he used Modi’s name duringPakistan elections. His slogan was: ‘Modi ka jo yaar hai, woh gaddar hai wohgaddar hai’,” the prime minister added.

The Congress had used Khan’s comments to corner the BJP,which has often hurled pro-Pakistan barbs at its rivals.

In the interview, Modi also expressed confidence that theBJP will win more seats than before, saying he is seeing “unprecedented”support for the party and that the first phase of polling on April 11 hasreinforced his confidence.

Modi had led the BJP to its first ever majority in the LokSabha polls in 2014 winning 282 of the total 543 seats.

To a question about criticism that that the BJP has resortedto “hyper-nationalism” instead of focusing on real issues in its campaign, heasserted that a large part of speeches is dedicated to the issues ofdevelopment but they never make headlines.

He then asked “if decades of terrorism and deaths ofsoldiers cannot be considered as real issues”.

Attacking his rivals like the Congress, Modi said, “Thosewho did absolutely nothing on the critical issue of national security are nowhaving problems when India’s national security doctrine has seen a strategicshift”.

Hitting back at the opposition’s charge of politicisation ofarmed forces, he said, “Politicisation of the Army happened when they created afake news of revolt by the Army to gain sympathy. It happened when credit forvictory in the 1971 war was given to Indira ji.”

Asserting that patriotism is not a “disease”, he said ashyper-secularism was invented to strike at the root of India’s culture andethos, similarly the terminology of hyper-nationalism has been invented toportray ‘deshbhakti’ (patriotism) in poor light.

With political experts wondering if the BJP in Uttar Pradeshwill be able to repeat its feat of 2014 elections, when it had won 71 of thestate’s 80 seats with its ally winning two more, Modi said the state will votefor those who put India first not those who put family first.

The uniting factor for the SP-BSP grand alliance in thestate is personal survival and personal interest, he alleged, and asserted thatthe state is witnessing double-engine growth with central and state governmentsworking in tandem to transform lives.

UP will vote for vision not division, he said.

Attacking his rivals, Modi said parties like the Congresswant to take India back to the era of “corruption and loot”. There is such amood against the Congress that the party by its own admission is fighting onthe lowest number of seats, he said.

Asked about the opposition’s attack on his government overthe escape of economic offenders like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, he said itshould not be forgotten that his dispensation got corruption accused likeChristian Michel, Rajiv Saxena and Deepak Talwar back.

“I will like to again state that anyone who has looted the nation will not be spared,” he added.  

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