Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda and other bigwigs of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched a mega campaign to respond to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Yadav's "personal attack" on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by adding "Modi ka parivar" to their social media handles.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also responded to the RJD veteran on Monday, saying 140 crore people of India are his family.
On Sunday, RLD's Lalu Yadav had commented on PM Modi's charge of dynasty politics against Opposition parties and said, "What can we do if Narendra Modi does not have a family of his own?"
Addressing a rally of the INDIA Opposition bloc in Patna, the veteran politician said, "He keeps bragging about the Ram temple. He is not even a true Hindu. In Hindu tradition, a son must shave his head and beard after the death of his parents. Modi did not do so when his mother died,".
In a show of solidarity, top BJP leaders on Monday added "Modi ka parivar" to their bios on their social media handles.
clear message of solidarity, top BJP leaders today added "Modi ka parivar [Modi's family]" to their social media handles. The leaders who added the phrase include Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Nitin Gadkari and Anurag Thakur, and veteran BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
BJP chief ministers, including Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath were among the party's senior leaders, besides its numerous other functionaries who joined the campaign. Many Modi-supporting social media users also made the same change on their pages.
PM Modi Hits Back
Meanwhile, in what looked like a response to the RLD patriarch, PM Modi on Monday in Telangana said "Mera Bharat, Mera Parivaar," giving out the message all of India was his family and that his life was like an "open book."
Reiterating his commitment for the people of the country, he said he had left home at a young age with the dream of serving the people. Addressing a well-attended public rally in this district, the PM also said his he had dedicated himself to public welfare as a "sevak".
Contending that the opposition said he had no family, the PM said "140 crore people of this country are my family. Mera Bharat mera parivaar,"(My India is my family)." .
He further said his "life is like an open book. People of the country know about it."
"When I left home in my childhood, I left with a dream that I will live for the countrymen," he said.
Continuing his attack on "dynasty parties," in the country, PM Modi said said they may have different faces, but "jhoot and loot" was their common character.
"The face of dynasty parties may be different but they have a similar character--jhoot and loot (lies and loot)," he charged.
How Congress Reacted
The BJP's show of solidarity for PM Modi in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections is reminiscent of a similar campaign the party had mounted prior to the 2019 general elections with the "Main Bhi Chowkidar" addition to their names to take on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "Chowkidar Chor Hai" dig at Modi.
While BJP leaders rallied around PM Modi on Monday, the Congress said that the saffron party leaders were just "annoyed" seeing INDIA bloc's growth.
"... You can see the enthusiasm among the public in Patna yesterday. Every day the INDIA Alliance is growing, that is why the BJP people are annoyed..."
Congress leader Digvijay Singh said, "Modi is not the issue, the key issues are poverty, inflation, unemployment and the gap between rich and poor. These polls will be contested on these issues. Narendra Modi has always talked about nepotism in Congress."
Congress party's Pawan Khera asked why the BJP was not worried for the families of those who die by suicide.
"Why are they not worried for the families of those who die by suicide, whether they are youth or farmers. This is to divert from the issues. Every hour, one farmer and two youths commit suicide in this country.
"If they had been worried about them, they [BJP leaders] would have added 'Farmer's family' to their names... We wish PM Modi would have reacted to the suicide of those two youths who commit suicide every hour...," Khera said.
