Congress ridicules Modi rally fee plan

IANS/New Delhi

The Congress yesterday took a dig at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over the proposed Rs5 entry fee for his rally in Hyderabad next month.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defended the move saying the money was for the relief of Uttarakhand flood victims.

The BJP also accused the Congress of “rubbing salt on the wounds” of the flood victims.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari tweeted that the market has discovered “true value” of Modi’s speech.

“To hear a saint’s sermon a ticket costs Rs100-Rs100,000, a cinema ticket costs Rs200-500 even for a box office flop, to hear the chief minister Rs5, the market discovers true value,” Tewari posted on social networking site Twitter yesterday.

The BJP defended its decision to collect Rs5 from people attending the August 11 public meeting in Hyderabad to be addressed by Modi, saying it was a voluntary contribution and the money would be used for the relief work in Uttarakhand.

BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said that Tewari was acting more like Congress spokesperson than a union minister.

“The Congress is rubbing salt on the wounds of the victims of the Uttarakhand floods,” he said.

Hussain said that the money would be used to provide succor to people hit by floods in Uttarakhand and politicisation of the issue was “unfortunate”.

BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said the money was being collected towards relief work in the flood-hit state.

He told reporters that it was only a voluntary contribution aimed at promoting a sense of participation.

Naidu also clarified that the Rs5 fee would be collected only from those who could afford to pay.

The BJP leader dismissed criticism by the Congress saying the ruling party was making allegations as it was unable to digest the growing popularity of Modi.

“The Congress is rattled by Narendra Modi. They are not able to digest the growing popularity of Modi. That’s why they are making such allegations,” he said.

“The Congress show itself is a flop show. It has been running a flop show in this country for the last 50 years,” Naidu said while responding to Tewari’s remarks.

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