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Updated: Dec 26, 2018 12:44 IST

Taking a jibe at the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (Grand Alliance), Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said that regional parties who longed for the Prime Ministerial position are now supporting Congress president Rahul Gandhi for the post ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, adding that it is like “begaani shaadi mein Abdullah diwana” (a stranger getting too much involved and excited in somebody else’s marriage).

“The regional parties who are not interested in seeing Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister are supporting (the alliance) to make him the Prime Minister. At the same time, they also want their aunt or uncle to be Prime Minister and want their father and grandfather to be Prime Minister. The so-called Mahagathbandhan is ‘begaani shaadi mein Abdullah diwana’,” he told reporters here.

Naqvi further said that the drama of dynastic politics staged by the Congress and their “Modi Hatao” movement is eyewash.

“They know very well that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji is respected by the people of the country,” he stated.

The Union Minister further claimed that the Congress is “working hard for just four hours, while they go on a picnic for four months”, adding that the BJP is working tirelessly for the welfare of the people.

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“Who are they to challenge Modi Ji? In the last four-and-half-years, Modi ji has tirelessly worked for development and for the interest of national security. We need to give a befitting reply to those who are planting conspiracies and making baseless allegations not only against Modi Ji but also Atal Ji (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee),” Naqvi said.

Terming ‘Mahagathbandhan’ as a club of royal dynasties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the grand alliance has been formed by some leaders to serve their personal interest. “People can see through their opportunism and will never accept such an incoherent coalition,” he had remarked last week.

The Mahagathbandhan is a proposed group of non-BJP parties, including the Congress, which is aiming to dethrone the Narendra Modi-led government in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

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