The Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP on Monday decided to charge a fee of Rs 5 from those who wanted to attend the party’s election committee Chief Narendra Modi‘s speech. In a political atmosphere thick from the war or words between parties, Congress lost no time in taking another dig at the Opposition. Party Spokesperson Manish Tewari took to Twitter early today and hit out at the BJP saying the party has finally discovered Modi’s ‘true market value’.
“Baba Pravachan Ticket Rs 100-100,000 Cinema ticket Rs 200-500 even for box office flop Ticket to hear’a’ CM Rs 5 Market discovers true value,” Tewari tweeted. Tewari also commented on Modi’s ‘fascist’ nature asking what amount of tax would be imposed on the people for listening to Modi. “BJP’s listening Tax Rs 5maybe market discovery price What would be speaking Tax imposed on 1.2 billion? Monitising democracy/ pure fascism!”
The parties lashed out at each other with renewed vigour after a Reuters interview with Modi was published. Speaking about the 2002 riots, Modi used an analogy where he said that he was like a passenger sitting in the backseat of a car which ran over a puppy. The fact that he used that analogy to describe his role in the riots which killed 1000 Muslims, incensed a lot of people. The Congress didn’t leave a single stone unturned in their attempts to criticise Modi’s administrative skills.
The exchange hit a low when Modi referred to the Congress as a party that takes shelter behind the “burqa of secularism” every time it faces a crisis. “Why don’t they feel accountable to the nation. They use the CBI to further their vote bank politics. They don’t own up to their mistakes. And whenever someone criticises them, they wear a burqa of secularism to hide their flaws,” Modi had said.
The Congress, however, countered Modi’s allegations saying secularism was way better than communalism. Party General Secretary Shakeel Ahmad tweeted: “The veil of secularism is much better than their (BJP’s) communalism. Communalism divides the country.”
Both the BJP and the Congress are trying to exploit every statement, faux pas, made by the other party especially with polls in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan scheduled for later this year. What is left to be seen is how much they manage to influence voters in the general elections slated to take place later this year or early next year.
