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In a startling turn of events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi resurrected the controversial figure of Yakub Memon during a rally on Saturday, accusing the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) government of “decorating the grave” of the convicted terrorist. Yakub Memon was hanged in 2015 for his prime role in the March 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts, executed by the Dawood Ibrahim gang and masterminded by Pakistan’s ISI.
Addressing large crowds in Nanded and Parbhani in the backward Marathwada region, Modi accused the MVA government helmed by Uddhav Thackeray of allowing the refurbishing of Memon’s grave. This move reignited a major controversy, with the then opposition accusing the MVA government of being soft on terrorists. Memon was executed at Pune’s Yerawada jail, and his body was buried in the Bada Kabrastan near Marine Lines station in south Mumbai, amidst heavy police supervision personally supervised by the then police commissioner Rakesh Maria.
By making the Yakub Memon controversy a poll issue, PM Modi was obviously trying to accuse the MVA of going soft on terrorists. Firing from all guns, the PM once again referred to the Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray as a ‘fake Sena.’ The idea was to lend credibility to the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, who had raised the banner of revolt against Uddhav’s leadership, and is now an ally of the BJP.
Modi didn’t stop there; he predicted defeat for the INDI alliance. He claimed that the INDI alliance has already conceded defeat. Its constituents were fighting each other in 25 % of the seats. He noted that Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had attacked Rahul Gandhi in the most acerbic language ever used against the Congress leader. The PM said since Rahul was contesting from Wayanad in Kerala, his own family members won’t be able to vote for him.
He said the Congress ‘sahebzade’ aka Rahul lost in Amethi (in 2019) and ran away from there to Wayanad. After his defeat in Wayanad, he will flee from there also, PM Modi predicted. Without referring to Sonia Gandhi by name, he said certain leaders were not confident of winning the LS elections and hence had got themselves elected to the Rajya Sabha.
