In the never ending-saga of name calling, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the "modern-day Aurangzeb" who has destroyed hundreds of temples in Varanasi. This comes on the day Congress’ top leader, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra compared the PM to "Duryodhana", a key villain from the epic Mahabharata.
Nirupam is the Congress candidate from Mumbai Northwest constituency.
He told the reporters on Tuesday, "After coming to Varanasi, I saw that hundreds of temples have been destroyed in the city. There is also a newly-imposed Rs. 550 fee for the darshan of Lord Vishwanath. I feel that Prime Minister Modi is a modern-day Aurangzeb. He has succeeded in destroying those temples which the people of Banaras defended even during the peak of Aurangzeb's cruel regime."
He then pointed out to the irony of Modi for talking about protecting Hindu beliefs and rights and then pulling down temples.
He stood by the party's claims on surgical strikes during the UPA rule by saying, "BJP has now come on the back foot because we revealed the truth that surgical strikes took place even under Congress rule. The power of Indian Army during our rule was so much that we were able to split Pakistan into two.”
He then targeted the BJP for Modi's comments on Congress president Rahul Gandhi's father and former PM Rajiv Gandhi. He responded to PM Modi's challenge to the Congress to contest in the name of Rajiv Gandhi by making a confident statement, "We are ready to fight elections in the name of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The day he (PM Modi) took Rajiv ji''s name, he ensured Smriti Irani will lose Amethi by at least two and a half lakh votes.”