Attacking the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, BJP leader and Union minister Anurag Thakur Saturday alleged earlier an "Italian woman" used to "insult" Prime Minister Narendra Modi now "an Italia is insulting his mother".
Though he did not name either, the apparent targets of his tirade during election rallies in Gujarat were Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who was born in Italy, and the AAP's Gujarat unit head Gopal Italia.
He also claimed there is a "huge BJP wave" in Gujarat and "this time we are going to break all previous records".
He addressed three public meetings in Surendranagar and Wadhwa in the poll-bound state, launching fierce attacks on the Congress and the AAP.
"Earlier an Italian woman used to insult Prime Minister Narendra Modi now an Italia is insulting his mother," said the minister of youth affairs and sports.
Gujarat did not accept this "insult" earlier it will not accept it now, he said. "Gujarat will give a befitting reply." The AAP's Gujarat president has been under the BJP fire for the past few days over his comments.
Gopal Italia was on Thursday detained for nearly three hours by the Delhi Police after he appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) in connection with his alleged comments against PM Modi. In an old video that emerged on Thursday, Gopal Italia is purportedly heard mocking Modi's 100-year-old mother Hiraba.
The BJP is organising 'Gujarat Gaurav Yatra' from October 12 to October 20 on five routes. BJP national president JP Nadda flagged off two routes on October 12, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off three routes the next day. 'Gujarat Gaurav Yatra' was also taken out by the party in 2002 under the leadership of then chief minister Narendra Modi, and then before the assembly elections in 2017. This time, the 5,734-km Yatra aims to cover 144 of the state's 182 assembly constituencies during which more than 145 public meetings will be held.
Describing Gujarat as the model of development for the whole of India, Anurag Thakur said, "With the blessings of the people here, Modi ji came to power in 2014 and 2019 with path-breaking majority. In 2024 also, Narendra Modi ji is going to come with 400-plus seats".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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