Donning a black shirt to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu hit back at him on Sunday for calling him a 'senior in backstabbing'.
Earlier in the day, Narendra Modi speaking at Praja Chaitanya Sabha in Guntur, had slammed the Chandrababu as a backstabber of his own uncle, NT Rama Rao, founder of the TDP. Taking a jibe at Naidu, Modi had said, "You are a senior in backstabbing your uncle."
Responding to this, Naidu addressing the party workers in Vijayawada said, "These remarks don't befit the PM's chair."
Addressing the crowd, he said, “What did he do with Advani? Advani saved him when Vajpayee demanded his resignation, he nurtured and mentored him, but he didn’t even acknowledge his presence and exchange namaskaram. That is his culture.”
'Forced to Attack Him Personally’
The PM’s remarks of describing Naidu as ‘Lokesh's father’ also didn't go well with Naidu, as he shot back, "Lokesh is my son. You don't have a son, you don’t have a family, you don't have relations. I am someone who encourages family relations. I want to spend time with my family. I am someone who believes that everyone will be happy if they have a family."
“Did the Prime Minister ever have any respect for the family system? Was there any occasion where he spoke in support of it?” Naidu slammed.
Saying that he doesn't attack someone personally, he said that he's forced to because Modi attacked him personally. Naidu said:
“He has a wife, do you know that? He brought a law against Triple Talaq to prevent injustice to women. Under the same law, those who divorce their wife through Triple Talaq, could be prosecuted. But where will you keep your face, if I ask about Jashodaben? You didn’t even give her a divorce.”
"You lack respect," he remarked.
‘You Took a U-Turn’
Lashing out at Modi, for accusing him of taking a U-turn and joining the Congress, he said, “I didn't take U-turn, but took the right turn, it is you who took a U-turn (on your promises)."
"He's saying that the grand alliance is polluted. Because of your atrocities, all the parties are joining and resisting strongly. I didn't join the alliance to abuse you, I joined the alliance because of the injustice meted out to our state," the CM said.
Naidu also used the occasion to attack YSRCP, the principal opposition in the state. He alleged that the BJP couldn’t get a crowd, so the YSRCP helped them in bringing in the crowd.
"Jagan Mohan Reddy will fear you (Modi), because he has the CBI knife hanging on him. While several parties protested Modi's visit, the only party which remained mum is YSRCP," Naidu said.
(This copy was first published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
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