Rahul's sharp attack on PM Modi: '56-inch chest, direct connection with God history now'

'Washington: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said the results of the general elections in India this summer destroyed the "idea of Modi" and the "fear" created by the prime minister vanished, becoming "history".

Gandhi said the Lok Sabha elections were not fought on a level playing field and claimed that the ruling coalition led by the BJP had collapsed, breaking "right down the middle". Asserting that things have changed after the Lok Sabha results were announced, Gandhi said, "The fear created by Modiji vanished in a second. It took years to cultivate that fear, a lot of planning and money was involved but it took only a second for it to evaporate." Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed a government for the third consecutive time after the Lok Sabha elections this year, however, the BJP did not get a majority on its own. "I can tell you that the idea of Mr Modi-- 56-inch chest, direct connection with God -- that's all gone, its history now," Gandhi said. He also claimed the ruling coalition had collapsed and was broken "right down the middle". Gandhi accused the RSS of considering some religions, languages and communities to be inferior to others and said the fight in India is about this and not about politics.

"The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or a kada in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to Gurdwara. That's what the fight is about," Rahul said

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Gandhi's remarks were "sinister" in nature as he tried to spread falsehood among the members of the Sikh community living abroad to "eke out a living" and do not have much connection with India. "I condemn is the strongest terms the statement he has made about Sikhs not being able to wear turbans and kadas," the BJP leader from the Sikh community said. Referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that happened during the Congress's rule, Puri said, "If there has been one time in our history when as a community we have felt anxiety, a sense of insecurity and existential threat, it has been the times when Rahul Gandhi's family has been in the seats of power."