Harpreet Bajwa By

CHANDIGARH: The Congress took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday saying he not maintaining the dignity of the high office he held and was instead behaving like a “Sadak Chaap” (roadside) leader.

Referring to Modi’s election speeches in Haryana and on the repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Congress General Secretary and Haryana affairs in-charge, Dr Shakeel Ahmed said, that the PM’s statements these days are like those of a “Sadak Chaap” leader.

“I feel sorry while saying that the kind of statements our PM gives these days are just like any roadside leader,” Ahmed said. He also called the PM a habitual liar.

“By the kind of statements he has been giving, he has lowered the dignity of the high post he is occupying,” he added. Ahmed said that irrespective of if the arena was an international forum or state election campaign, Modi must always remember that he is the PM of the world’s largest democracy.

He pointed out that two days back the Prime Minister claimed that Pakistan was given a stern warning and would not repeat the ceasefire violations , but within 24 hours of Modi having said this Pakistan again engaged in firing. “Just think the kind of message it sends across at international level, what would other nations think about our PM.”

Ahmed claimed that the people of Haryana would elect the Congress to power for the third time in a row, considering the development work the party has carried out in the state. He also hit out at the INLD supremo, saying “it is strange that a man (Om Prakash Chautala), who is out on medical grounds has actively campaigned and held a number of political meetings in the past three weeks.”

In reply to Ahmed’s comments BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said, “the road to the globe starts from New Delhi and goes via Washington and Japan. Our leaders do not live in palaces and loot people they work on the ground.”

She pointed out that Pakistan incursions were more when the Congress was at the Centre. “It was already known that for the last 10 years there had been no government or governance in Haryana, now the court had made it clear that the Congress Government was illegal and hence untenable,” she said. Referring to the recent disqualification by Punjab and Haryana High Court of five HJC MLAs, who merged into the Congress in 2009 after the polls, she said, “the Government was cobbled together by engineering defection of 5 HJC MLAs.”