Bilawal Bhutto Says he is “Not Afraid” of Modi, RSS as his Ministerial Colleague Threatens India with “Nuclear Bomb”
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 18: Amidst nation-wide protests in India by the BJP workers against the Pakistan foreign minister’s “uncivilised” comments against the prime minister Narendra Modi, Bilawal Bhutto said he was “not afraid” of Modi or the RSS even as his Pakistan People’s Party colleague Shazia Marri defended his outburst as a “mere response to inciting comments” by Indian minister.
Marri, also a minister in the Shehbaz Sharif cabinet, who on Saturday threatened India with nuclear attack, on Sunday while defending her party colleague also claimed that Pakistan had suffered more in terror attack than India. “Pakistan’s FM responded to inciting comments by Indian Minister. Pakistan has sacrificed far more than India in the fight against terrorism,” she tweeted.
A day after “reminding” India that “Pakistan has atom bomb,” Marri defended her threat with Pakistan being a “responsible state.” “Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state. India should not forget that Pakistan has an atom bomb. Our nuclear status is not meant to remain silent. We will not back down if the need arises,” she said.
Bilawal Bhutto, in a highly objectionable comment, had said: “Osama bin Laden is dead, but the butcher of Gujarat lives.” The comment was termed as “a new low, even for Pakistan” by the Indian government. His comments came after the external affairs minister S Jaishankar told the United Nations’ Council that “Made in Pakistan terrorism must stop” not only against India but across the world.
Condemning Bhutto’s personal attack against Modi, the external affairs ministry called it a “new low even for Pakistan” and said Pakistan lacked the credentials to cast aspersions on India.” India said Pakistan was a country that glorifies Osama bin Laden as a martyr, and shelters terrorists like Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar, Sajid Mir and Dawood Ibrahim.
Defending his outburst against Modi, Bhutto on Sunday said he was not scared of Modi or the RSS and maintained that his comments were “based on history” and that the word he used against Modi was not his invention but was “coined by the Indian media.” “The history is a witness to the role the current Indian prime minister played in Gujarat. No matter how hard the BJP or RSS protests, they cannot distort history.”
Bilawal Bhutto and S Jaishankar exchanged barbs at United Nations over the issue of terrorism in which Bilawal made a personal attack on PM Modi after being schooled by Jaishankar on ‘hosting Laden’. Bilawal said Jaishankar is the foreign minister of the RSS which drew its inspiration from Hitler’s SS.
The external affairs ministry issued a strong statement against Pakistan and said Bilawal’s ‘uncivilised outburst’ is a new low even for Pakistan. Pakistan’s Foreign Office issued a counter statement and rejected the terrorism charges. BJP workers demonstrated and burnt Bilawal’s effigies across the country on Saturday. Bilawal reacted to the protests and said the protest should not be against him, but against hatred. “We are not afraid of RSS, we are not afraid of Mr Modi. We are not afraid of the BJP. If they want to protest, they should,” Bhutto said.
