Did Modi defame PM’s post by accusing Manmohan of conspiring with Pakistan over Gujarat polls?

The BJP has refused to apologise for Narendra Modi's comment that Manmohan Singh and others along with Pakistan are hatching a conspiracy over Gujarat polls.

Gandhinagar, Dec 12: In the 'wild wild Gujarat', it's all about 'wild and weird' allegations.

If not for anything, in the future, the Gujarat Assembly elections 2017 will be remembered for low and crass level of politics being played by politicians cutting across party lines to win votes.

While the Congress repeated its "chaiwallah" jibe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its now suspended leader Mani Shankar Aiyar called Modi a "neech kisam ka aadmi" (a low-life kind of person), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioned the faith of newly-elected Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his multiple temple visits in Gujarat and equated the Congress with the Mughal regime.

But what left everyone in the country gasping for oxygen (literally) is over Modi's unsubstantiated remarks against his predecessor Manmohan Singh that he along with a former army chief and a former Vice President conspired with Pakistan to influence the Gujarat Assembly elections at a rally in Palanpur on Sunday.

During the rally, Modi talked about a purported secret meeting held at suspended Congress leader Aiyar's home in the national capital and attended by the Pakistani high commissioner, an ex-Pakistani foreign minister, a former VP of India and former PM Singh.

"Across the media yesterday, there was a discussion...that at Mani Shankar Aiyar's house...Pakistan's high commissioner, Pakistan's former foreign minister, India's former Vice President, and India's former Prime Minister...Manmohan Singh...they had a meeting at Mani Shankar's house. The meeting lasted three hours. And the next day, this Mani Shankar called Modi 'neech"/"low-level'..." Modi said at the rally.

"It is a serious matter... that Pakistan ... its a sensitive issue... at that time what is the reason to have such a secret meeting with the Pakistan high commissioner? And while elections are on in Gujarat, what is the reason for this type of secret meeting?" he added.

Modi's theory of a "foreign hand" (in this case the BJP's favourite enemy Pakistan) trying to influence the Gujarat polls did not end here.

"The second matter, Pakistan's former director general of army, Arshad Rafiq, he says this, that to make Ahmed Patel Gujarat's chief minister, we should do a contract. That Pakistan's retired army chief should interfere in Gujarat's election, that a meeting of Pakistani people should be held at Mani Shankar's place, and the day after the meeting Gujarat is insulted... Modi is insulted... All these matters raise questions, do they not; they cause concern, do they not?" the PM told a huge crowd.

These are some very serious allegations made by the PM publicly against a former PM, a former army chief and a former VP (he did not name the former army chief and the VP). However, Modi, the PM of India, who controls the defence ministry and all intelligence agencies, did not give any concrete evidence to corroborate the accusations he made during his fierce speech.

While Singh and the government of Pakistan refuted Modi's allegations, political and defence experts called Modi's attack against Pakistan and his adversaries at home nothing but "absurd".

With such "unproven and wild allegations", Modi might have succeeded in tarnishing the image of former PM Singh as an "anti-national" (a favourite term of the BJP against all its homegrown enemies) and accused his predecessor of being involved in treason by conspiring with Pakistan (oh, how much India loves to hate its neighbour), but in doing so the PM actually attacked his own position as the most powerful man of India.

Modi and his cabinet colleagues like Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is confidently spreading the theory of conspiracy during Gujarat polls, are not realising one thing that by bringing the Pakistan angle, India is sending a wrong signal to the whole world about its own "weakness".

A strong nation and its equally strong PM, who has earlier boasted about his 56-inch chest, will never cry like a baby at an election rally alleging Pakistan meddling in India's elections.

If the PM and his team members are so sure about the conspiracy theory they should attack Pakistan like they conducted surgical strikes against the neighbouring country in the last year following Uri attack by Pakistan.

If these allegations are mere half-baked insinuations, then the PM as asked by his predecessor Singh must apologise to the nation.

The former PM Singh, issuing a statement against Modi on Monday, said that the PM is spreading falsehoods about Pakistan meddling in the Gujarat polls.

"I sincerely hope that Prime Minister will show the maturity and gravitas expected of the high office he holds instead of concentrating his energy solely on erroneously conceived brownie points.

"I sincerely hope that he will apologise to the nation for his ill-thought transgression to restore the dignity of the office he occupies," stated Singh.

In response to Modi's allegations that Pakistan is helping the Congress and interfering in the Gujarat Assembly elections, Islamabad on Monday in a statement said that India should not pull Pakistan into its electoral affairs.

"India should stop dragging Pakistan into its electoral debate and win victories on own strength, rather than fabricated conspiracies, which are utterly baseless and irresponsible," Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said in a tweet.

The strong statement from Pakistan angered the BJP a lot. "Today a very curious statement has been released by Pakistan foreign office condemning Pakistan being dragged into India's election and stated that Indians must learn to fight the elections on their own.

"Yes, I wish to tell Pakistan that Indians are capable of contesting... (elections in) India's democracy on their own as they do... India's Prime Minister is a popularly elected PM," Prasad told reporters in the national capital on Monday.

India, he said, "completely abhors any outside interference in India's electoral affairs."

"The role of Pakistan in promoting terrorism in India is too well known in the entire world. Please stop giving us lessons. We are proud of India's democracy," he said. "We are very proud of India's democracy and totally condemn this unwarranted statement from Pakistan," he said.

On Monday evening, Jaitley refused any apology from the PM as demanded by his predecessor on his Pakistan remarks and in fact continued with the spat between the Congress and the BJP over the Gujarat elections.

Jaitley accused Singh and other Congress leaders of going against India's national policy by meeting Pakistani delegates. Jaitley demanded a clarification from the Congress regarding what transpired at the meeting.

"It is surprising that for the misadventure that the Congress has indulged in, to which some of its senior leaders became a party, they should expect the PM to apologise," Jaitley told the media.

"Therefore, the Congress and its leadership should come out with detailed facts as to what transpired in that meeting and what was it that necessitated this meeting," the finance minister said.

Right from Modi's arguably allegations to Jaitley's arrogance on the whole controversy, such 'mis'conducts by the top leadership of the ruling BJP to score "brownie points" ahead of the Gujarat elections show how "fake news and bogey of hyper-nationalism" have engulfed the entire saffron party.

Modi has not just accused Singh of engaging in "anti-national" activities but has also questioned the former PM on not carrying out surgical strikes against Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

Modi, during his address at a public rally in Vadodara on Sunday, asked his predecessor why he did not show the courage to order a surgical strike post the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, despite the readiness of the Army.

He said after the Mumbai attacks, the Air Force had approached then Singh with a plan for surgical strikes, but the government did not show the courage to order it.

"Under whose advice did he (Singh) do so," PM Modi asked the gathering at the Navlakhi compound in Vadodara.

These kinds of "baseless" statements might help the BJP to raise voters' passion for "hyper-nationalism" just hours before elections to garner votes, but if the PM and his teammates don't come up with concrete evidence against all accusations that they have levelled since Sunday, it would gravely dent India's position as a strong nation in the world politics.

OneIndia News