Modi launches anti-Pakistan assault on AAP

Published March 26, 2014
India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally at Hiranagar 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Jammu, India, Wednesday, March 26, 2014.—AP Photo
India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally at Hiranagar 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Jammu, India, Wednesday, March 26, 2014.—AP Photo

Indian prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a direct attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, calling him one of the three 'AKs' popular in Pakistan.

The BJP leader said the other two ‘AKs’ were the assault rifle AK-47 and Indian Defence Minister AK Antony.

“There are three people who are being praised in Pakistan - they are three AKs. The first one is AK-47 that is used to spill the blood of innocents. The second is Defence Minister of India, AK Antony, who had said that those who beheaded the Indian soldiers were terrorists in Pakistan Army uniforms. And the third is AK-49,” Indian media quoted Modi as saying at a large rally in India-held Jammu and Kashmir.

“This AK-49 just gave birth to a new party and on his party's official website, the map shows Kashmir is given to Pakistan and one his most trusted aides has favoured plebiscite in Kashmir....Pakistan’s papers are full of praise for them. They are enemies of the country. They speak in favour of Pakistan,” he added in an apparent reference to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.

Kejriwal resigned after 49 days as chief minister in Delhi state.

“We need to identify and know the real nature of these ‘AKs’,” added Modi.

Pakistan separated from India following the end of the British colonial rule in 1947 – a split that has caused endless tension and triggered three wars – two of them over Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan territory claimed in full by both countries.

Right-wing Indian nationalists often use anti-Pakistan rhetoric in their political campaigns.

India, the world's largest democracy, is set to go to general election from April 7, a five-week contest expected to bring Hindu nationalist Modi to power.

After two terms of coalition government led by the leftist Congress party, the BJP under Modi is widely forecast to emerge as the largest party.

Modi, leader of the western state of Gujarat since 2001, is seen as a pro-business reformer but his Hindu nationalism and links to anti-Muslim riots worry religious minorities and defenders of India’s officially secular character.

Opinion polls show Modi, who was chief minister of Gujarat when anti-Muslim riots left more than 1,000 dead in 2002, holds a large advantage over his rivals

A new movement with national ambitions, the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party led by former tax inspector Arvind Kejriwal, will also be an unpredictable element in this year’s polls.

Just over a year since its formation, the party won enough seats in December’s Delhi state elections to take power in what was seen as a political earthquake in the graft-plagued nation.

No single party has won a parliamentary majority since 1989 and the electorate has fractured in successive decades, giving often populist regional leaders immense power at the national level.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.