The Union minister of state for external affairs and culture, Meenakshi Lekhi, tore into Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday for his highly offensive and insulting remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Bankrupt nation Pakistan is represented by intellectually bankrupt foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto,” Lekhi told The New Indian on Friday in a no-holds-barred conversation.
Lekhi did not keep it for Bhutto-Zardani only. The firebrand leader also attacked his ancestors for supporting terrorism during their reign.
“I think semi-literate people cannot be expected to talk better for the simple reason that Bilawal Bhutto’s ancestors were incubating terrorism during their time. He just carried their legacy forward,” Lekhi said.
Bhutto-Zardari’s famous ancestors include his grandfather and former Pakistan PM, late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto; his mother, late Benazir Bhutto, who was also a former Pak PM; and his father, former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari.
Highlighting Pakistan’s struggle to remove its name from the G7’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list countries, Lekhi said, “He probably needs to know how many times Pakistan has been part of the FATF grey list.”
Citing history, Lekhi also pointed out that Pakistan’s sixth PM, Ibrahim Ismael Chundrigar, who was born in Godhra, was also the main perpetrator of the 1946 riots in the town.
“Godhra has a long history of rioting. The man who is responsible for the 1946 riots, Ibrahim Chundrigar, later became the PM of Pakistan,” Lekhi pointed out.
Lekhi also suggested that Bhutto-Zardari work on himself and aspire to be like Prime Minister Modi, whose leadership qualities have been observed and admired around the world.
“The leadership qualities of PM Modi have been witnessed by the world and are appreciated all over the world,” Lekhi said.
Highlighting PM Modi’s leadership during the pandemic years, Lekhi said, “The world has benefited from his leadership during the COVID. He not only brought India out of the pandemic but also helped 172 countries, including Pakistan, come out of the pandemic. So many vaccines were sent to Pakistan from India during that period.”
“So, I think he would do well to work on himself and his country rather than making these kinds of desperate statements,” Lekhi added.
In a highly offensive remark, Pak foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called PM Modi ‘the butcher of Gujarat’ at the United Nations Security Council.
Reacting to the Indian minister of external affairs, S Jaishankar’s attack on Pakistan as a country that sheltered dreaded terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden, Bhutto-Zardari said, “I want to tell India that Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives, and he is the Prime Minister of India.”
“He (PM Modi) was banned from entering this country until he became the Prime Minister. This is the Prime Minister of the RSS and the Foreign Minister of the RSS. What is the RSS? The RSS takes inspiration from Hitler’s ‘SS’,” the Pak minister added.