What's wrong with Navjot Singh Sidhu's remark: Congress backs Punjab Minister's thief slur against PM Modi

Sidhu had on Saturday levelled allegations of corruption in the Modi government's deal with France to purchase 36 Rafale military aircraft.

NEW DELHI: Congress on Sunday backed Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu's thief slur against Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming that there was nothing wrong in what the cricketer-turned politicians said. "  

"People made Modi the PM, he couldn’t digest it so called himself Pradhan Sevak. He then started calling himself Pradhan Chowkidaar. A theft has happened under his nose, what wrong did Sidhu say," Congress leader BK Hariprasad said.

Sidhu while addressing an election rally at Khairthal in Alwar district on Saturday levelled allegations of corruption in the Modi government's deal with France to purchase 36 Rafale military aircraft. Sidhu claimed that the plane worth Rs 500 crore was being bought for Rs 1,600 crore.

As Sidhu made the allegations, there were also chants of 'chowkidar chor hai (the watchman is a thief), a slogan given by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi mocking the PM's claim that he will act like a 'watchman against graft in the country'.

Taking Rahul's remark a step further, Sidhu alleged, "Even the watchman's dog is involved." He also claimed that the BJP government's 'Make in India' slogan had not yielded results, and asserted that the government struck a deal on Rafale with France and on the bullet train with Japan. He claimed the Sardar Patel statue recently installed in Gujarat was bought from China.

"Will the people of the country fry pakodas?" he said. He added that he will quit politics if his allegations are proved false. "You have broken the back of farmers. You do not belong to the poor farmers but to Ambani and Adani. You have become puppet of the industrialists," Sidhu attacked the Modi government.