PM addressing the press on board his aircraft.
On Board PM’s Special Aircraft:
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has called for a secular front to fight what he called the "onslaught" of Narendra Modi.
"I sincerely hope all the secular forces will combine to combat the onslaught of people like Mr Narendra Modi. You will see it's a matter of time before people realize what they are up against," 81-year-old Dr Singh said on his way back from the United States.
Mr Modi is seen as a polarising figure in Indian politics for his failure in preventing the Gujarat communal violence in which hundreds of Muslims were killed in 2002. He has also controversially asserted that he is a Hindu nationalist, a comment aimed at re-assuring the BJP's ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its more hardline affiliates, that the Hindutva agenda remains germane to the BJP's political strategy.
The BJP reacted sharply to Dr Singh's statement, calling it "ridiculous".
"It is the Congress which is giving a blatant communal angle to everything. Those who do such things and then give a statement calling all secular forces to come together (against Modi) look ridiculous. It is they who have created the real communal divide," the BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.
Though it was one of Dr Singh's rare calls for political alliance ahead of the crucial general elections, due by May, Mr Modi has been relentless in his attack on the incumbent Prime Minister.
At a rally in Delhi on Sunday, Mr Modi alleged that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had called Dr Singh a "dehati aurat" (village woman). After the remarks created a huge controversy, Mr Sharif sent a message to Dr Singh, denying he ever used such language.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley charged the government with trying to link Mr Modi and his former Home Minister Amit Shah to a series of fake encounters in Gujarat, where Muslims alleged to be terrorists were killed by the state police. (Read)
"I sincerely hope all the secular forces will combine to combat the onslaught of people like Mr Narendra Modi. You will see it's a matter of time before people realize what they are up against," 81-year-old Dr Singh said on his way back from the United States.
Mr Modi is seen as a polarising figure in Indian politics for his failure in preventing the Gujarat communal violence in which hundreds of Muslims were killed in 2002. He has also controversially asserted that he is a Hindu nationalist, a comment aimed at re-assuring the BJP's ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its more hardline affiliates, that the Hindutva agenda remains germane to the BJP's political strategy.
The BJP reacted sharply to Dr Singh's statement, calling it "ridiculous".
"It is the Congress which is giving a blatant communal angle to everything. Those who do such things and then give a statement calling all secular forces to come together (against Modi) look ridiculous. It is they who have created the real communal divide," the BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.
Though it was one of Dr Singh's rare calls for political alliance ahead of the crucial general elections, due by May, Mr Modi has been relentless in his attack on the incumbent Prime Minister.
At a rally in Delhi on Sunday, Mr Modi alleged that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had called Dr Singh a "dehati aurat" (village woman). After the remarks created a huge controversy, Mr Sharif sent a message to Dr Singh, denying he ever used such language.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley charged the government with trying to link Mr Modi and his former Home Minister Amit Shah to a series of fake encounters in Gujarat, where Muslims alleged to be terrorists were killed by the state police. (Read)
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