Rahul slams PM Modi for attacking Manmohan Singh

Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments against his predecessor Manmohan Singh over a dinner meeting with Pakistani diplomats were unacceptable, Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi said here today.

The prime minister had insinuated that Manmohan Singh was colluding with Pakistan in the Gujarat polls. The former premier responded by saying Modi was setting a “dangerous precedent” and asked him to apologise to the nation.

“What Modiji has said about former PM Manmohan Singh is not acceptable,” Gandhi said at a press conference here today, the final day of campaigning for the Gujarat Assembly elections. He said the prime minister had refrained from speaking on corruption during the campaign in his home state.

Modi, Gandhi added, had remained silent on allegations against BJP president Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah and the alleged irregularities in the Rafale fighter jet deal. “PM Modiji has not spoken a word about corruption. He is silent on Jay Shah and Rafale deal,” he said.

The Congress leader also took on those who raised eyebrows over his visits to temples in Gujarat, wondering if it was wrong to pray for the well-being of people of the state. “Mandir jana mana hai kya (Am I not allowed to visit temple)? I have asked for the well-being of the people of Gujarat during my temple visits,” Gandhi said, when asked the reason behind his frequent temple visits in the poll-bound state.

Taking a jibe at Modi over his sea-plane ride from the Sabarmati River here to Dharoi Dam in Mehsana district, Gandhi said it was a distraction from the main issues of Gujarat. The Congress leader also said he was confident that his party would win the elections in the state. “We are confident that Congress will win in Gujarat,” Gandhi said.

Addressing an election rally in Palanpur in Gujarat on Sunday, Modi had sought to suggest that Pakistan was trying to influence the assembly polls in the state. He claimed that some Pakistani officials and Manmohan Singh met at Aiyar’s house over dinner on December 6. This was a day before Aiyar’s “neech” jibe against Modi that led to his suspension from the party.