Prime Minister Narendra Modi hurls 'Michel mama' jibe at Congress

BARIPADA: PM Narendra Modi , in a scathing attack on Congress in Odisha on Saturday, said the party had risked the country’s defence and was now desperate to remove him just as thieves conspire to remove the ‘chowkidaar’. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly used the word ‘chowkidaar’ to attack the PM.Addressing a public meeting in Mayurbhanj district after inaugurating a slew of development projects worth around Rs 4,500 crore, Modi said, “2004 aur 2014 ke beech kaise desh ki sena ko kamzor karne ki saazish rachi gayi; jab hamare sarkar desh ki sena ko unke saazish se nikaalne lage, hum unhe kaante ki tarah chubhne lagein. (There was a conspiracy to weaken the country’s defence between 2004 and 2014. Now that we are trying to strengthen it, we are getting under their skin like thorns).” He added, “Ye kisi bhi keemat par chowkidar ko raaste se hataa dena chahte hain (They want to oust the watchman at any cost,” he added.Referring to the AgustaWestland case and the role played by middleman Christian Michel in defence purchases under UPA, Modi said, “I fail to understand whether Congress ran a government or a durbar of ‘Michel mama’. He used to know everything about files in the PMO).The PM further said that government agencies would investigate the role of each individual who worked for the interests of middlemen in defence purchases. “The law will not be lenient on anyone,” Modi added.