On the last day of the campaign in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the state witnessed a dramatic showdown between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek hai toh safe hai' poll slogan, the BJP called him 'chota popat'.
Gandhi brought the metal Safe to his news conference in Mumbai, claiming a link between the slogan and the Dharavi redevelopment project being given to the Adani Group.
He then pulled out two posters from the Safe, one featuring a picture of industrialist Gautam Adani and PM Modi with the caption "Ek hai toh Safe hai," and another showing a map of the project.
Gandhi sought to draw a parallel between the word “safe” in the slogan and the tendering process in the Dharavi redevelopment project, suggesting it was designed to protect Adani’s interests.
The "Ek hai toh safe hai" slogan primarily serves to help Adani acquire Rs one lakh crore worth land through the Dharavi redevelopment project, he alleged.
"Narendra Modi's slogan is: If we are united, we are safe. The question is: who is safe,” the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
"I will explain the real meaning of BJP's slogan – 'Ek hai toh safe hai'. It is if Modi, Shah and Ambani are 'ek' (united), then they are 'safe'," he said.
BJP hits back at Gandhi: 'Chhota popat ne kiya hei Congress ko chaupat'
After Gandhi's jibe at the poll slogan - 'Ek hai toh safe hai', the BJP hit back, calling him “Chhota popat” which it claimed was coined by Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray to mock him.
BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra, who held a press conference to hit back at Gandhi, said “It was a very low-level press conference. Bringing a Safe and creating drama around it. Holding this kind of press conference by the so-called top leader of the so-called national party does not suit Rahul Gandhi and the Congress,”
“Today I say this from this platform and in Rahul Gandhi’s language that 'Chhota popat ne kiya hei Congress ko chaupat' (he has ruined the Congress). His name is Rahul Gandhi," the BJP leader said.
"I saw an interview of Bal Thackeray where he referred to Rahul Gandhi as Chhota popat. From today onwards, Rahul Gandhi’s name is going to be ‘Chhota popat’. This name will now be there on every child’s lips in Maharashtra,” he said.
Patra said the word “safe” in the slogan meant “safety, security and keeping people safe from ‘ghuspaithiya (infiltrators)’ but Gandhi took it as ‘tijori’ (a safe to keep money and valuables).
“As is the feeling of a person, so is his understanding. Those who have been breaking into ‘tijoris’ for generations, it’s obvious they will understand the meaning of the word safe as ‘tijori’."
(With PTI inputs)
