Jalandhar: The oldest serving chief minister in the country, Parkash Singh Badal of Punjab feels that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is a “novice” and “no match” to the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
“Rahul Gandhi is a novice in public life and is hardly any match to the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,” Badal, who is the patron of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, told the media persons in Shahkot town near here yesterday.
The Akali Dal is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The Punjab chief minister said the country’s prime minister should be a “learned personality with varied administrative and public experience”. He said Gandhi lacked both.
“It is not possible for such a person to manage the huge responsibility of serving the nation on the top-most post,” Badal said. “On the other hand, Modi has proved his mettle time and again as an able administrator by driving the state of Gujarat on the path of progress,” said Badal, who turns 86 next month.
Addressing a public rally in Shahkot, 175km from here, Badal said neither Congress president Sonia Gandhi nor her son Rahul Gandhi have any sympathy for the common man. He said India was facing external and internal crises because both these leaders were not even aware about the basic topography of the nation.
“The ignorance of the top leadership of the Congress is proving to be a bane for the entire nation as the faulty policies of the UPA have added to the woes of the common man,” Badal said.
Meanwhile, acting on a complaint by the Congress, the Election Commission yesterday issued notice to BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi over his khooni panja (bloodied paw) remark at a rally in Chhattisgarh, a reference to the Congress election symbol.
The remark was made last week at an election rally at Dongargarh. Modi has also used the term jalim haath (cruel hand) to describe the Congress symbol.
The Election Commission asked Modi to explain by 5pm of November 16 why action should not be initiated against him for alleged violation of the model code of conduct The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, maintained there was no violation of the election code of conduct.
“The Election Commission notice has reached us. We will go through the details and respond,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said. She said she wished to clarify that there was “no violation of the code of conduct in his (Modi’s) statement”.
The Congress complained to the Election Commission that Modi’s comment was “intemperate, malicious and defamatory”.
“The use of the expression khooni panja is extremely significant and deplorable and has an effect of terrorising the public at large against the Congress,” the Congress said in its petition.
The poll panel, in its notice said that “prima facie it has been observed that by making the aforesaid statements, you have violated the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct”. It said if no reply is received by November 16 then it will take appropriate action.
IANS
