PM Modi said Pakistan's economy was in such bad shape that they wanted to sell thier nukes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar over his "Pakistan has an atom bomb" remark and accused the party of "finding ways" of scaring the people, adding that "yeh mare pade log, desh ke mann ko bhi maar rahe hain" (These people, who are virtually dead, are trying to kill the soul of the country).
In an April 15 interview with 'Chill Pill' Aiyar, Mr Aiyar said that "Pakistan is a 'respected nation' that also possesses an atom bomb so India must enter into a dialogue with them."
Addressing a public meeting in Odisha's Kandhamal, PM Modi took a jibe at Pakistan's economy and said that while the "country had atom bombs," it was looking for someone to sell them but was unable to do so due to its "poor quality."
"Time and again, Congress tries to scare its own country. They say, 'sambhal ke chalo Pakistan ke pass atom bomb hai. Ye mare pade log, desh ke man ko bhi maar rahe hain'. They talk about Pakistan's bomb, but the condition of Pakistan is such that they don't know how to keep them and they are looking for a buyer to sell their bombs but no one wants to buy them as people know about the quality," the Prime Minister said.
He further asserted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir faced terrorism for 60 years because of Congress.
"Due to this attitude of Congress, the people of Jammu and Kashmir faced terrorism for 60 years and the nation witnessed several terror attacks. Nation will never forget that they used to have meetings with terrorist organisations. They didn't dare to initiate an investigation against them after the 26/11 attack because they did not have the guts to take action against the terrorists involved in the attack. The people of the INDI alliance used to think that their vote bank would get affected," he said.
PM Modi said that India has made up their mind that the NDA will cross 400 in the Lok Sabha elections.
"India has made up their mind that the NDA will cross 400 (in Lok Sabha). The people of Congress must note that the country has now decided that on June 4, they won't get the seats that are needed to be the opposition, they will be limited below 50 seats," he said.
The Prime Minister further asserted that in Odisha, the BJP will form a double-engine government in the state.
"For the first time, there will be a double-engine govt in Odisha," he said.
WHAT MANI SHANKAR AIYAR SAID
Mr Aiyar had said there have been no efforts from India to reach out to Pakistan in the last ten years.
"They are also a sovereign country (Pakistan). They are a respected nation. You can talk tough with them (Pakistan). But start the dialogue. You are walking with a gun which yielded you nothing. Tensions are escalating. And if a mad person comes there, what will happen to the nation? They have an atom bomb. We also possess the atomic bomb. But if a mad person detonates our bomb at Lahore station, so within eight seconds, eight moments, its radioactivity will reach Amritsar," Mr Aiyar said.
He added, "So you should prevent the use of atomic bombs. But, if you start a dialogue with them (Pakistan) and encourage them (by considering them as), then they should start thinking about their atomic bomb. But if you snub them, then a mad person will come and detonate the bomb. Then what will happen?"
The state of Odisha will hold Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections in four phases from May 13 to June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.
In the 2019 Assembly election, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won 112 out of 146 seats, while Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won 23 seats and Congress won 9.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won the majority of seats in the state, while the BJP and the Congress brought up the rear. The BJD won 12 seats, the BJP finished a close second at 8, and the Congress bagged just a lone seat.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)