Gujarat Election 2017 Phase 2: "Why Is Manmohan Singh So Angry?" Amit Shah Hits Back: 10 Points

Gujarat Election 2017 Phase 2: Amit Shah accused Manmohan Singh of double standards

Highlights

Manmohan Singh said he's "deeply hurt" by PM Modi's allegations
PM said Gujarat polls were discussed at dinner for former Pak minister
Manmohan Singh has asked PM Modi to apologise to the nation

New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah has torn into former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his video statement released on Wednesday evening in which he said he is "deeply hurt" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegations hinting that he colluded with Pakistani guests at a dinner and discussed the Gujarat elections. "Why is Manmohan Singh so angry," said Mr Shah, adding, we just want to ask him whether he was so angry when monumental loot & plunder was happening under his watch? The nation missed this anger then!"

Here are the top 10 updates in this big story:

The statement read out by Dr Singh emphasised his unusually sharp counter to PM Modi's allegations on Tuesday. "Mr Modi is setting a dangerous precedent by his insatiable desire to tarnish every constitutional office, including that of a former Prime Minister and Army Chief," he has said.
PM Modi has accused Pakistan of attempting to meddle in the assembly elections in Gujarat, which votes in the final phase today, alleging that the polls were discussed at a dinner hosted by suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for former Pakistan Foreign Affairs Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri and attended by Dr Singh and other Congress leaders last week.
Manmohan Singh has denied that he discussed the Gujarat elections with Pakistani guests and accused PM Modi of spreading "canards" to score "political brownie points". He has asked PM Modi to apologise to the nation.
The BJP has said it is the Congress which should apologise. Amit Shah on Wednesday accused Dr Singh of double standards for not objecting to attacks by members of his party on PM Modi. "We want to ask respected Manmohan Singh ji why was he not angry & anguished when a CM of his country was called 'Maut Ka Saudagar.' Why is he still silent when PM of his country is called 'Neech'?"
The BJP chief also said he was "amused to see the Congress party so desperate before the Gujarat elections. Just a day before polling, both Shri Rahul Gandhi and respected Manmohan Singh ji are only maliciously attacking PM @narendramodi."
Dr Singh, he alleged, had tried to "mislead the people of Gujarat in previous elections," but said both the former PM and his party were repeatedly rejected by the state. Mr Shah also asked why the Congress had initially denied a "secret meeting" with the Pakistanis and admitted it "only when it was exposed."
Mani Shakar Aiyar had hosted the dinner on Wednesday last, a day before he made his "neech" slur against the PM. It was attended by Pakistan's High Commissioner, a former Pakistan minister and a former officer of the Pakistan army. The guest list also included Dr Singh, former Vice President Hamid Ansari and former army chief Deepak Kapoor, journalists and former diplomats.
PM Modi brought it up at an election rally in Gujarat, linking Mr Aiyar's "neech" comment with his hosting the Pakistanis and said it was an insult to Gujarat. He has said his home sate will "take revenge on voting day."
Four guests, including Dr Singh, have said Gujarat or domestic politics were not discussed at all at the dinner. The meeting, they said, was focused on Indo-Pak relations and the prospects of peace.
Gujarat votes today in the second and final phase of the assembly elections. Results will be announced on Monday, December 18. The BJP is seeking a fifth straight term, having been in power in Gujarat for 22 years.