By IANS,
Chandigarh: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Wednesday hit out at Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad for supporting the Congress on the cut motions in parliament and said they were “dogs who lick the feet of the Congress”. Gadkari later retracted his statement and said he did not mean to be offensive.
Speaking at a rally here, Gadkari said about Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Prasad: “‘Bade dakarte the sher jaise, aur kutte ke jaise ban kar Soniaji aur Congress ke ghar par talve chatne lage’ (these leaders were roaring like lions but later bowed like dogs to lick the feet of Sonia and the Congress).”
Later, however, Gadkari told IANS: “I take back my words. I just used a ‘muhavara’ (idiom)…I did not personally call them dogs….I take my words back.
Addressing his maiden rally in this city, Gadkari said the two leaders and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) deserted the opposition on the cut motions in parliament.
“In front of the TV, Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad stood with Sushma Swaraj (leader of opposition). All these parties stood with us but turned away later,” Gadkari said.
He also hit out at the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
“What happened during the cut motion? The BSP went and sat in the lap of the Congress,” he said.
“Someone asked me later which party is with the Congress? I said that only one party was with the congress – the Congress Bureau of Investigation,” Gadkari said taking a swipe at the Congress for allegedly using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against political leaders.
“Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad bowed before the CBI. In their inquiry, somewhere the lawyer was changed while somewhere the affidavit was changed,” the BJP president claimed.