Distancing from the remarks made by I.N.D.I.A bloc ally Lalu Yadav who attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “family”, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Friday (March 8) said that he was “never in favour” of such statements which have come back hard at the Opposition in return. Noting that the Prime Minister has used the ‘Parivar’ issue well, Abdullah said that the Opposition has done “self-goal” by passing such comments as these do not work in perception of the public.
The NC leader’s remarks came days after RJD chief Lalu Yadav attacked PM Modi at a rally in Patna where he said, “What can we do if Narendra Modi does not have a family of his own? He keeps bragging about the Ram temple. He is not even a true Hindu. In Hindu tradition, a son must shave his head and beard upon the demise of his parents. Modi did not do so when his mother died.”
Abdullah reacts to the remark
He said that the Prime Minister uses these issues very well in his favour and therefore the Opposition should shy away from raising slogans like “chowkidar (given by Rahul Gandhi during 2019 polls), Adani-Ambani etc.
"I was never in favour of such slogans (statements) and we have never benefited from them. Voters are not influenced by such things, they want to know how the issues they are facing at present will be resolved. We actually do self-goal by giving such statements and allow (PM) Modi to score. And Modi has used the issue very well. We should raise issues concerning people...chowkidar, Adani-Ambani, Rafale, family...these things don't work,” he said.
Notably, the Prime Minister reacted to Lalu's "family" attack and said "140 crore people of the country are my family".
"When I question their dynasty politics, they start saying that Modi doesn't have a family...My life is like an open book. People of the country know and understand me very well...When I work late into the night and news comes out, lakhs of people write to me to not work so much and rest well. I left my home as a child with a dream in my eyes...That I will live for the people of the country, every moment of my life will be for you, I will not have personal dreams but your dreams will be my resolve. I will spend my life to fulfill your dreams and brighten the future of your children. That is why I say that crores of people in the country consider me as their own and love me like a member of their family. So, I say that 140 crore people of the country are my family," he said at a rally in Telangana.
The BJP also ran a campaign "Modi ka Parivaar" on X where the party leaders, including the Union Ministers, added the slogan to their names on the social media platform to counter the Opposition's barb.
NC leader attacks PM over Kashmir visit
Reacting to the Prime Minister’s Kashmir visit on March 7 where he addressed a gathering, he said that he did not speak anything about the restoration of statehood and elections in the Union Territory.
“Nothing new came from PMs visit. No word on restoration of democracy from the PM and people expected him to talk about restoration of statehood, elections, employment and other local issues. But the PM remained silent. 370 is an emotional issue for us but it is political for the PM. Why is the PM selling movie tickets?” he said.
