Delhi BJP leader Vijay Goel slammed for calling Modi 'Sabarmati ke sant'

While the BJP has of late been enthusiastically displaying its new-found love for Mahatma Gandhi, a senior party leader’s brainwave of combining a tribute to Gandhi with a paean to the Prime Minister has raised eyebrows. [caption id=“attachment_2452832” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Vijay Goel. File photo. Image courtesy: PTi[/caption] In a hoarding put on Gandhi Jayanti, BJP leader from Delhi Vijay Goel paraphrased the song ‘De di hamein azadi’ with the words ‘De di duniya mein pehchaan nayi, ooncha kiya bhaal’, saying that Narendra Modi ‘gave a new global identity to India and made the country proud.’

The Times of India reported that the hoarding was put up outside his residence in Bengali market in Delhi. The spin on the musical tribute did not go down well with the opposition Congress, which termed it as an instance of ‘sycophancy at its worst.’

Goel, however, defended the hoarding, claiming that he was not comparing Modi with Gandhi, and that they ‘are saints in their own rights,’ as reported by the Hindustan Times . He was also reported to have said that while Gandhi liberated India, Modi freed the country from corruption and poverty. Not everyone, however, was convinced.