Modi is 'king of jungle', says Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Sunday that none of the opposition leaders who have come together against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a national stature.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "the king of jungle" while they ruled only in their own turfs, he said.

"The proposed alliance against Modi does not even have a prime ministerial candidate. There will be one PM every day. These people have got together for power. They have no programme or intention to do something for the country," Fadnavis said at an event organised by the BJP Yuva Morcha.

Leaders like DMK's M K Stalin, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, NCP chief Sharad Pawar or West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee are leaders only in their own states, he said.

"Modi attracts lakhs of people wherever he goes. Kutta-billi (dogs and cats) rule (only) their own areas. Modi is the king of jungle," Fadnavis said.

If a "helpless" government was elected in coming polls, development will come to a grinding halt, he said.

"The rate at which we are progressing, by 2035 our country will be among the leading countries in the world. This momentum of development shouldn't stop. If we elect a weak and helpless government, the ongoing development process will be hampered," he said.

If a weak and helpless government was elected and if Pakistan attacked the country, there will be some people in such a government who would favour dialogue with Pakistan, Fadnavis said.

Before 2014, the country had a "mute prime minister who ran a remote-controlled government," he said.

"After seeing the film Accidental Prime Minister, we know he was a good man tied to the prime minister's chair," Fadnavis said, referring to the Anupam Kher-starrer film based on Manmohan Singh's tenure as PM.