Mehbooba takes a swipe at Modi’s ‘nuclear weapons’ rally call

SRINAGAR: Former Kashmir chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti retorted on Monday to PM Modi’s campaign rhetoric on nuclear weapons on Sunday at a Barmer rally, only to whip up a Twitter storm. She tweeted: “If India hasn’t kept its nuclear bomb for Diwali, it’s obvious Pakistan’s not kept theirs for Eid either. Don’t know why PM Modi must stoop so low & reduce political discourse to this.”


Modi on Sunday in Rajasthan had asserted that India was no longer afraid of threats of a nuclear war on which Pakistan issues threats now and then. Modi had said, “India has stopped the policy of running scared of Pakistan’s threats. Every day, they (Pakistan) would make claims about nuclear weapons. Even media would report on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. Are we saving ours for Diwali?”

On Monday, Mehbooba told reporters on the sidelines of a rally, “Jo Pakistan ke paas honge, vo bhi Eid ke liye nahi rakhe honge. Yeh hisaab baraabar hota hai. (Those [nuclear weapons] that Pakistan possesses would have not been kept for Eid either.)

A storm of tweets accused her of speaking for the neighbour. To which she retorted: “To be trolled for it by RW is amusing & baffling. Does one have to be enthusiastic about nuclear war to earn the credentials of a true patriot? Disturbing that Gandhi’s India is baying for blood.”