AAP targets Modi over 'saboot-sapoot' speech: 'His trademark style'

New Delhi, Mar 28: Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his wordplay with 'saboot' and 'sapoot' at a rally in Meerut, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said it was his "trademark" style of lampooning opposition and painting them as anti-national, while portraying himself as the biggest patriot.

Playing on the words 'saboot' and 'sapoot', the Hindi words for proof and a worthy son, Modi attacked the opposition for seeking evidence of the surgical strikes.

"Do we need 'saboot' or 'sapoot'... those who seek evidence are challenging the sapoot." He was speaking at the launch of his party's Lok Sabha poll campaign in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Rudrapur in Uttarakhand and Akhnoor in Jammu and Kashmir -- all going to polls in the first phase on April 11.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh said it is Modi's "trademark" style of lampooning the opposition and painting them as anti-national, pro-Pakistanis and portraying himself as the biggest patriot. "Modi should tell the country what kind of a sapoot is he? It is Mr Modi’s BJP which spread a culture of hatred across the country, it is his party which destroyed communal harmony across the country," he said.

"So far as patriotism is concerned, who is Modi to question us? He has so far not told the countrymen what prompted him to go uninvited to Lahore to cut the birthday cake of the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif," he added.

Singh said the AAP was "amazed" at Modi calling himself a "sapoot and not having courage to speak on the Rafale fighter jets multi-crore mega scam". "He is claiming to be a sapoot whereas he is clearly a kapoot (unworthy son)!" he said. "Modi has nothing to tell the country in this election campaign about his government's achievements and is, therefore, lowering the political discourse in this campaign," Singh said.

PTI