The Congress on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using anti-Pakistan rhetoric merely to drum up support for his politics domestically, even as he dealt with Islamabad in a surreptitious manner. Citing an unpublicised letter from Mr. Modi to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Pakistan’s National Day , the Congress said Mr. Modi should stop writing “love letters”.
On Friday, the BJP had sought to play up anti-Pakistan sentiments by attacking the Congress for its leader Sam Pitroda’s comments. India had also boycotted a reception at the Pakistan High Commission here to mark the National Day.
Turning the tables on the BJP, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted: “#Chowkidar hid the fact that he had wished Pak PM on Pak National Day without a word on Pak terrorism. Muscular politics soap opera for people and media..”
Confirmation of Mr. Modi’s greetings came in a tweet by Mr. Khan. “I welcome PM Modi’s message to our people. As we celebrate Pakistan Day I believe it is time to begin a comprehensive dialogue with India to address & resolve all issues, especially the central issue of Kashmir and forge a new relationship based on peace & prosperity for all our people,” Pakistan’s PM had tweeted on Friday night.
The government is now trying to underplay the message by saying it was only a “customary greeting.”
According to sources, Mr. Modi had in a letter to Mr. Khan said that it was time for the people of the sub-continent to work together for a democratic, peaceful, progressive and prosperous region, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence.
Tagging a video of Mr. Modi’s interview to a channel during the UPA time, when Mr. Modi is heard saying “Pakistan needs to be talked to in the language it understands and that writing love letters to it should be stopped,” Mr. Surjewala took a swipe at Mr. Modi. “Modiji, Stop writing this Love Letter to Pakistan.” Mr. Modi had at the time been critical of the then PM Manmohan Singh’s letter to the leadership in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah continued his attack on the Congress over Mr. Pitroda’s comments. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Mr. Shah demanded an apology from the Congress president. Asserting that Mr. Pitroda’s statement appeared to convey the impression that the Pulwama attack was a “routine” incident carried out by a few people for which Pakistan could not be blamed, the BJP chief asked Mr. Gandhi to make his party’s stand clear on the issue.
