After reporters of British daily The Telegraph tracked down elusive jeweller Nirav Modi in London, the Congress on Saturday, 9 March, hit out at the BJP-led government at the Centre, slamming their efforts, or lack thereof, to bring back the diamond tycoon wanted in the Rs 14,000-crore Punjab National Bank scam.
The Congress tweeted from its handle about the discovery of Modi in London by the reporters, expressing surprise at the fact that journalists had been able to track down the fugitive when the Modi government had been unable to do so. The party also questioned who PM Narendra Modi was trying to protect.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala also hit out at the BJP-led Modi government in a series of tweets.
In one tweet, he wrote: “Desh ka Rs 23,000 crore loot kar le jao, bagair rok-tok desh se bhaag jao, phir PM ke saath photo khichwao, London mein Rs 73 crore ke aishgaah mein zindagi bitaao, Bujho mai kaun hun, Arre chhota modi, aur kaun! Jab Modi bhaye kautwaal, toh dar kaahe ka!! Modi hai toh mumkin hai!!! (Loot country’s Rs 23,000 crore, leave the country without any hindrance, then click pictures with the prime minister. In London, spend life in luxurious Rs 73 crore apartment. So, who am I? ‘Chhota Modi’, who else! Why fear when PM Modi is there. Everything is possible when Modi is there.)
In another tweet, he compared the video of Modi walking freely around the streets of London to the trailer of a film about a poster boy for bank fraudsters who had settled down outside their country.
A video of Surjewala was also shared on Twitter, taunting PM Modi for his failure to capture Nirav Modi and his Mehul Choksi. In his verse, Surjewala called the diamond tycoon ‘Chhota Modi’ and said that PM Modi had helped Nirav Modi and Choksi loot the country and banks. He ended his poem with ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai’ (It is possible if Modi is there.)
Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha pointed out apparent similarities between PM Modi and the jeweller Nirav Modi, bringing back the ChowkidaarChorHai hashtag.
BJP Hits Back, Shifts Blame
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, did not sit back and allow the Congress to blame them for Modi looting the country and getting away with it. In a series of tweets on Saturday, they blamed the Congress and the UPA government, which had been in power when Nirav Modi’s scam had allegedly begun in 2011. They went one step ahead and said that the massive fraud had actually been discovered and exposed during the Modi government.
The BJP also took credit for having Modi declared as a fugitive, his house blown up and all the other actions taken against him. The party pointed out that action was being pursued by “our agencies.”
The party added that those who had cheated Indian during the UPA government had been brought back and were in custody and that others would follow because “no one who cheats India can get away under the Modi government.”
They also referred to liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s case, pointing out that the facility of second restructuring of bank loans had been given to Mallya under the UPA government.
Their last tweet ended with “Ulta Chor Chowkidar Ko Dante”, the slogan that they had started using against the Congress after the latter had started the phrase ‘Chowkidaar Chor Hai’ for PM Modi.
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