Where did you get expertise on religion: Modi’s swipe at Cong

Jodhpur, December 3

Launching a stinging attack against the Congress for questioning his knowledge on Hinduism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday used the dynast-worker analogy to ask the opposition party where it got its expertise on the religion. Addressing an election rally in this Rajasthan town, the Prime Minister said in a sarcastic jibe that he was a small “kaamdar" (worker) who never claimed to have full knowledge of Hinduism but the “naamdar” (dynast) has the right to speak. Modi has often referred to Congress president Rahul Gandhi as “naamdar”.

 He also brought up India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and first president Rajendra Prasad. Nehru objected to Prasad's visit for the consecration of Somnath temple, which was destroyed by foreign invaders and renovated by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Prime Minister told the gathering ahead of elections in the state on December 7.

The country, he said, was celebrating Prasad's birth anniversary. In an indirect but obvious reference to Nehru, Modi said the leader who wore a rose knew about gardens but not farmers or farming.

The Congress, Modi alleged, has become a university for spreading lies. People who lie more get new posts in the party, he said. Rahul Gandhi, he asserted, has great capacity for speaking lies.

"The Congress' dreams have been crushed in all states. This will happen in Rajasthan also," he said. It thinks it can come to power because of the trend in Rajasthan of alternate parties forming government but this will be proved wrong in the upcoming state elections, Modi declared.

“If the Congress believes that they will win this election on the basis of lies, they are highly mistaken. They were thrown out from other states, they will face the same fate here also,” he said.

He accused the Congress of crumbling Mahatma Gandhi's dream of cleanliness even after ruling the country for decades. “The Congress ruled the country for decades but we never heard them taking the issue of cleanliness. They crumbled Mahatma Gandhi’s dreams. “They forgot him (Mahatma Gandhi) as they knew that if ‘fakir Gandhi’ will be remembered, who will recall this ‘naamdar Gandhi,” he said. — PTI 

‘I’m small kaamdar’

Even the saints and seers don’t claim that they know completely about Hinduism. Only ‘naamdar’ can claim that but not a small ‘kaamdar’ like me... Congress is not interested in development. It believes in caste and votebank politics. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister