By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,
Farrukhabad: External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid believes that the likes of MJ Akbar and Shahid Siddiqui, who at one time criticized Narendra Modi, but have today jumped on to the NaMo bandwagon either suffers from “intellectual bankruptcy or are hypocrites.”
Senior Journalist MJ Akbar has officially joined the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) while Shahid Siddiqui too have been speaking in what many see as “pro-Modi” tune. In fact while speaking at a public meeting amongst a predominantly Muslim supporters, Khurshid went a step further and compared them with Munaafiqs, i.e. a hypocrite who outwardly practices Islam while inwardly concealing his disbelief (kufr).
Salman Khurshid
Later when TwoCircles.net asked him to clarify, he said what else should I call people like them who not only joining the BJP, but are also justifying their actions.
Akbar had once compared Modi with Hitler in his articles but after joining the BJP, he wrote an article justifying his ‘change of heart,’ where he said that he like a good statesman when there were bomb-blasts at his rally in Patna, “His (Modi) instant response was to ask a powerful question to both Hindus and Muslims that went to the crux of the principal challenge before our nation, and included its solution as well. He asked these two great communities to choose: they could either fight each other, or together they could confront that shaming curse called poverty.”
Khurshid referred to this justification of by Akbar and termed it nothing but “senseless.”
He said that if Modi is really honest and convinced that he was not involved in any ways whatsoever in the 2002 Gujarat riots, why does he not come clean and speak about it.
Khurshid reminded that although the media might be tom toming whatever Modi says, but “not a single media channel ever called Modi a good man.”
He also took a dig at media houses and agencies conducting opinion polls saying if it were in their hands they might have given all the seats to the BJP/NDA, adding that if the poll predictions are right, it is “very unfortunate” for the country.
In his public rallies, the External Affairs Minister who is facing a difficult contest at his home constituency of Farrukhabad, Khurshid had been saying that the choice for the people is very simple: “Whether they want a Congress led government that guarantees rights and dignity to all human beings, or a communal, divisive government of the BJP, led by Modi.”
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