Rahul burdened by father’s Bofors sins: Modi

Panaji, April 10 (IANS) Taking a potshot at Rahul Gandhi without taking his name, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the Congress president lied incessantly perhaps because he was burdened by the sins of his father (Rajiv Gandhi) who was allegedly involved in the Bofors artillery deal.

Addressing an election rally here, Modi also compared Gandhi to an "expert pickpocket."

The Prime Minister accused Gandhi of taking unfair advantage of late Manohar Parrikar's ill-health by using a courtesy call made in January this year to spew more untruths about the Rafale deal.

"Sometimes I think why is he lying so much? I suspect that perhaps the sins of his father from the Bofors deal are weighing on his mind. In order to wash them, he is smearing the same sins on the rest of the world," Modi said.

"But he does not know that birth and inheritance can fetch you the reins of a party, but how will he earn credibility from 125 crore people," Modi asked.

Inked in 1986, the Bofors deal is considered to be one of the main reasons for the defeat of the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections.

Comparing Gandhi to an "expert pickpocket", Modi said that just like a pickpocket runs along with the mob crying "thief, thief" after picking his victim's pocket, the "naamdaar" Congress President tried a similar strategy when he met the ailing Parrikar on a courtesy visit, but used it to spin another lie subsequently.

"He tried to do the same thing with Manohar Parrikar. 'Naamdar' went to enquire about Parrikar's health, but he uttered such white lies after stepping out that one cannot even imagine," Modi said, calling Gandhi's tactics unfair, especially because Parrikar was fighting for his life at the time.

Former Goa Chief Minister Parrikar died on March 17 following a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer.

"In such a situation, he had to come out to clarify the canards spread by the liars. Such a huge lie was caught, but there was innocence on the face. There was not even a frown on his brow. This shows his insensitivity," Modi added.

The Prime Minister also accused the Congress of creating political instability at a time when Parrikar's health was sinking.

"They (Congress) should be ashamed of themselves. They do not even have the wisdom to acknowledge and respect such a (health) crisis. The manner in which the Congress leaders made statements at the time is against the culture of Goa and India," Modi said.