Rahul Gandhi hits out at PM Narendra Modi over smog

New Delhi: Continuing his run on Twitter, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday tweeted lines from a song of a Bollywood film, Gaman. The intention was to take a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the rising levels of air pollution in the national capital.

“Seene mein jalan/aankhon mein toofaan sa kyun hai/ iss sheher mein/ har shaks/ pareshaan saa kyun hai... (Pain in the chest, storm in the eyes/ why everybody in the city is so troubled),” he tweeted, in a clear allusion to the effects of air pollution in Delhi and surrounding areas, adding, “Kya batayeinge Saheb, sab jaankar anjaan kyun hain.”

The word “Saheb” was an apparent reference to Mr Modi.

Mr Gandhi also tagged a news report along with his tweet, which said that about 18 lakh people have lost their lives due to air pollution in the country. The Congress has been critical of the efforts made by both the Central government and the Delhi government to curb air pollution in the city. The statement of the Union environment minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, — pollution is harmful but not a killer — also drew sharp reactions from Congress.

Since his return from the United States of America in September this year, Mr Gandhi has taken to Twitter with one-liners to attack the government. The number of followers of his Twitter account has also risen sharply, causing his critics to question the veracity of his followers. In one his tweets, he had drawn a comparison betw-een GST and Bollywood villain Gabbar from the blockbuster Sholay. Once again, on Monday, he drew inspiration from Bollywood to attack the government on Delhi becoming a gas chamber.