Rahul Gandhi Mocks PM Modi’s Wind Turbine Remark, BJP Lashes Out

PM Modi had said that wind turbines can be used to create clean drinking water, oxygen and energy from thin air.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Modi

(Photo altered by The Quint)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday, 9 October, took to Twitter to mock Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his comment that wind turbines can be used to generate clean drinking water, oxygen and energy during an interaction with the CEO of a wind energy company.

“The real danger to India isn’t that our PM doesn’t understand. It’s the fact that nobody around him has the guts to tell him," Gandhi said on Twitter, as he posted a video of the prime minister's comment.

The tweet was accompanied by a video of PM Modi speaking to the CEO of a company, who NDTV identified as Henrik Andersen, head of Danish wind turbine-maker Vestas.

In the video, Modi suggests the usage of wind turbines to produce not just energy but oxygen and clean drinking water too. The CEO replies saying that he is smiling at PM Modi’s passion and excitement and adds that Modi can be an “idea generator” both in India and Denmark.

Rahul's mocking, however, evoked sharp criticism from the BJP, with Union Minister Smriti Irani, among others, lashing out at him.

"They say ignorance is bliss, but rarely in Indian politics has an individual made a conscious effort to sustain his ignorance. It seems the real danger to the Congress flourishes unabashedly and no one seems to have the guts to tell the Yuvraj otherwise", said Irani in a tweet.