Cong flip-flops to spell it out: Maut ka Saudagar apt for Modi

In the face of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi using Sonia Gandhi’s “maut ka saudagar” remark to defend his Sohrabuddin speech...

In the face of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi using Sonia Gandhi’s “maut ka saudagar” remark to defend his Sohrabuddin speech, the Congress is going on the offensive.

So a day after Union Minister Kapil Sibal tried to dilute that line by saying that it wasn’t a reference to Modi but to state functionaries, the party did a U-turn today. Spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi called a “special” press conference to say that Sonia’s description was actually “the most appropriate” for Modi. And, in Amreli, Sonia herself underlined it by calling Modi’s state the one where “the stomach of a pregnant woman is split open.”

This direct reference to Kausar Bano, a victim of the 2002 massacres, came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself said that fear has overwhelmed the state and those who are against the government have only God as their saviour. “The Gujarat election is not about one election,” said Sonia, “but about the protection of democracy, rule of law and humanity itself.”

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While Soniaben is a constant refrain in Modi’s speeches, Sonia referred to him as “they”, “them”, “these people”. “They” talk of “development”, she said, but the only development in Gujarat is of “falsehood” and “fear”. On Sardar Sarovar — “how will the water reach everyone? It is flowing into the sea”. On the “vikas purush” — “no one can compete with him in making hollow claims”.

Last Saturday, Sonia, launching her campaign in Navsari and Rajkot, had said: “The truth in today’s Gujarat is that those who run the government are liars, corrupt and (dharm aur maut ke saudagar) peddlers of religion and death.

Singhvi defended this saying that in light of Modi’s acts, omissions and utterances over several years, his “confessional statement” a few days ago and his government’s detailed written affidavit in the Supreme Court, the Congress leaves it to the people of India to judge the true face and character of Modi and Modi’s Government. “We reiterate and stand by the statement made from the AICC in respect of the description of Mr Modi,” said Singhvi. He skirted queries about Sibal’s statement yesterday.

When contacted today, Sibal claimed he had never said that the Congress President did not mean Modi. “All I had said was that she did not name anybody,” he said adding that it was the media, which distorted his statement. The minister had said at the press conference yesterday that the Congress President’s remarks were directed at “state functionaries”. Explaining it today, Sibal said that the term applied to the Chief Minister as well.

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Meanwhile, preparations were on for AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s “Jan Sampark Sabha” (mass contact programme) in Surat on Sunday. He will address eight public meetings.