Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari has hit out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying he is levelling corruption allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for political gains, and asserted that Modi should be respected for the position he holds.
He also slammed Gandhi’s proposed minimum income scheme to give Rs 72,000 per year to 20 per cent of the poor in the country, dubbing it a “populist slogan” and a “political strategy” to seek votes from the poor.
Dismissing the opposition’s charge that the BJP sidelined veteran leaders like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, he said the party held them in high regard and drew guidance and inspiration from them. He said any views of Advani were the words of the BJP and that “misquoting” him, by saying the saffron party terms the opposition as anti-national, was not correct.