The Nationalist Congress Party compared Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to a leopard on Thursday who never changes its spots.
NCP leader Supriya Sule said to a TV channel, “The leopard never changes its spots. In the beginning, it appeared that their campaign will be development oriented but it’s become clear what it will be now.”
The comments came after the Mumbai unit of the BJP put up the posters of the party’s poll panel chief declaring “I am a Hindu Nationalist” all across the western metropolis.
The ad campaign features images of Modi alongside a range of statements he made during a recent interview with a news agency.
According to reports, the campaign has been conceptualised by head of BJP’s Mumbai unit, Ashish Shelar.
In an interview to Reuters, Modi had said he is a Hindu nationalist as he is born Hindu. “I am nationalist. I’m patriotic. Nothing is wrong. I am born Hindu. Nothing is wrong. So I’m a Hindu nationalist. So yes, you can say I’m a Hindu nationalist because I’m a born Hindu,” he had said.
Claiming to be innocent in the Gujarat riots, Modi had said that he would feel guilty if he did something wrong but that’s not the case. Modi had also come under fire for his puppy remark during the interview. During the interview, Modi said, “While driving if a puppy comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not? Of course it is.”
Minority Affairs Minister Rehman Khan had hit out at Modi for his ‘Hindu nationalist’ remark saying, “There is nothing called Hindu or Muslim nationalist, there is only Indian nationalist.”