Bolstering his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal, Punjab minister Navjot Sidhu on Saturday, 1 December, said “even the chowkidaar (watchman’s) dog is a thief.”
Addressing an election rally at Khairthal in Alwar district, Sidhu alleged corruption in the Modi government's deal with France to purchase 36 Rafale military aircraft, a charge repeatedly denied by the Centre.
He claimed the plane worth Rs 500 crore was being bought for Rs 1,600 crore, even as the crowd chanted, “chowkidar chor hai” (the watchman is a thief).
The slogan was given by Rahul Gandhi who had earlier mocked Modi's claim that he will act like a watchman against graft in the country.
Even the watchman's dog is involved, Sidhu then said. He claimed the BJP government's 'Make in India' slogan had not yielded results, saying the government had a deal on Rafale with France and on the bullet train with Japan.
What Was Wrong in Sidhu’s Statement, Asks BK Hariprasad
A day after Sidhu’s comment, fellow party member BK Hariprasad on 2 December questioned the outrage around the statement, claiming that there was nothing wrong with what Sidhu had said.
Speaking to ANI, he said:
“People made Modi the PM, he couldn’t digest it so called himself Pradhan Sevak, he then started calling himself Pradhan Chowkidaar. A theft has happened under his nose, what wrong did Sidhu say?”
Rajasthan is slated to go to polls on 7 December.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS.)
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