Adding to the controversy over Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s “neech rajneeti” barb against Narendra Modi, Minister of State, Human Resource Development, Shashi Tharoor, on Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate is exploiting the phrase.
“It is an opportunistic exploitation by Mr Modi of the phrase ‘neech rajneeti’, it had nothing to do with his caste,” said Tharoor.
The Congress leader further rejected the usage of “part time politician” tag for Priyanka Gandhi, saying the daughter of Congress president has worker very hard. However, “Mr (Arun) Jaitley is a part-time Lok Sabha aspirant,” added Tharoor, referring to the BJP’s leader first stint for Lok Sabha seat.
Hailing Congress, which “campaigns for an idea of India”, Tharoor said it looks like the BJP campaigns for an India without an idea.
Priyanka on Monday attacked Modi, saying he had insulted her “martyred” father Rajiv Gandhi, and that the Congress workers in Amethi would give a befitting reply to his “low-level politics”.
Her barb at Modi got a caste spin with the BJP prime ministerial candidate using it to play upon his ‘lower caste’ identity. The Congress later accused Modi of deliberately misinterpreting facts while BSP leader Mayawati attacked him for his “despicable politics” for electoral benefit.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, when asked to respond on the barb of his sister, said today that no one was low by caste, but it was the thinking, politics and actions which were low and despicable.
