New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a swipe at his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan over his claim that Indo-Pak peace talks will have a better chance if the BJP wins in Lok Sabha polls, saying it was an attempt by the former cricketer to influence the elections in India with his reverse swing.
Modi also noted that Khan had used a slogan targeting him during Pakistan elections.
“We should not forget that Imran Khan was a cricketer and his recent statement was an attempt at reverse swing to influence Indian elections. However, Indians know how to hit a ‘helicopter shot’ on a reverse swinging delivery,” the top BJP leader told The Times of India in an interview published on Wednesday. “We should also remember how he used Modi’s name during Pakistan elections.
His slogan was: ‘Modi ka jo yaar hai, woh gaddar hai woh gaddar hai’,” the prime minister added. The Congress had used Khan’s comments to corner the BJP, which has often hurled pro-Pakistan barbs at its rivals.
In the interview, Modi also expressed confidence that the BJP will win more seats than before, saying he is seeing “unprecedented” support for the party and that the first phase of polling on April 11 has reinforced his confidence.
Modi had led the BJP to its first ever majority in the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 winning 282 of the total 543 seats. To a question about criticism that that the BJP has resorted to “hyper-nationalism” instead of focusing on real issues in its campaign, he asserted that a large part of speeches is dedicated to the issues of development but they never make headlines.
He then asked if decades of terrorism and deaths of soldiers cannot be considered as real issues. Attacking his rivals like the Congress, Modi said, “Those who did absolutely nothing on the critical issue of national security are now having problems when India’s national security doctrine has seen a strategic shift.” (PTI)
