Congress clapped when Imran Khan criticised PM Modi, says Ram Madhav

As the BJP prepared its counter-attack on the Congress after getting hounded by the main opposition party on the Rafale deal controversy, its General Secretary Ram Madhav on Tuesday said when Pakistan criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leaders applauded him.

BJP leader Ram Madhav. ANI Photo

NEW DELHI: As the BJP prepared its counter-attack on the Congress after getting hounded by the main opposition party on the Rafale deal controversy, its General Secretary Ram Madhav on Tuesday said when Pakistan criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leaders applauded him. Madhav also said when former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif hurled an insulting remark against Manmohan Singh, BJP leaders came in support of the former prime minister. "Congress clapped when (Pakistan prime minister) Imran Khan criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while when Nawaz Sharif (former Pakistan premiere) called D. Manmohan Singh a 'dehati aurat', we including Mojidi stood in support of former prime minister," ANI quoted Madhav as saying. Madhav remarks came days after Imran Khan hit out at India for cancelling a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this month.  "..all my life, I have come across small men occupying big offices who do not have the vision to see the larger picture," Khan had tweeted. The war of words between the Congress and the BJP has intensified after a French media report quoted former French president Francois Hollande as purportedly saying that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence as the partner for Dassault Aviation in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale jet fighter deal.

Congress clapped when Imran Khan criticized PM Modi. While when Nawaz Sharif called Dr.Manmohan Singh a 'dehati aurat', we including Modi ji stood in support of PM: Ram Madhav,BJP pic.twitter.com/219qikzsNF

— ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2018

Pakistan also jumped into the controversy to say the Modi government has cancelled the foreign ministers' level talks with because it wanted to "distract people's attention" from the Rafale deal.

In a tweet on Saturday, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information, Fawad Hussain said: "We reject war mongering by ruling elite of India everyone know Indian Govt strategy is to use hate mongering against Pak basically to bail Pm Modi from call for resignation post French jets Rafael deal and divert attention of Indian public from this mega corruption scandal."