Vijayashanti, a leader from India’s main opposition party Congress from the southern Indian state of Telangana has stirred up a furor on social media after making controversial statements during a public meeting in which she likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a terrorist. She spoke in the presence of her party chief Rahul Gandhi who is the principal face of the opposition seeking to unseat Modi in the upcoming national elections.
Addressing the meeting Vijayashanti said, “People are afraid what sort of ‘bomb’ Prime Minister Modi will drop and at what time. Instead of a person who is supposed to love people he looks like a terrorist who is scaring people. He is ruling like a dictator. This is very unlike what a prime minister should be”.
She further claimed, “Modi wants another five-year term to continue ruling like a dictator, but people will not afford him another term”.
The ruling party, BJP, to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi belongs, took to Twitter to lash out at Vijayashanti and her party accusing them of “raising concerns and worries” of terrorists in Pakistan. “This fear is good,” said the party handle on Twitter implying that there are “genuine” reasons for the opposition to fear Modi.
Since the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary policemen and escalated Indo-Pakistani tensions into aerial fights including the downing of fighter jets from each side, many have denounced Vijayashanti for her comments and tweeted in support of the prime minister.