Anyone who questions Prime Minister Narendra Modi's honesty will not prosper and his graph will go down with every passing day, Punjabi Sufi singer and BJP candidate from reserved North West Delhi parliamentary constituency Hans Raj Hans said on Thursday.
Hans, who loves to be known as a Sufi and a 'fakir', emerged as a surprise candidate on the North West Delhi seat, dislodging sitting BJP MP Udit Raj as official party candidate, forcing the latter to rebel and join Congress.
In an interview to the PTI, the Sufi singer rejected the opposition's charge of him being an outsider in the constituency and said this reflected their fear of defeat.
"Who can question Modi's honesty. Go and check his property. See how his mother, brothers and sisters live.
"Anyone questioning Modi's honesty should fear the god. His graph will go down day by day, I say this as a fakir. Even if your enemy does something good, you should praise him," Hans said.
He also heaped praise on Modi for paying equal attention to the development and security of the country and restraining Pakistan with tough measures.
"He is the man who has subdued Pakistan which had made things difficult for us. The role of army is laudable, but it was there earlier also but people were not honest, they lacked guts to issue orders. Our brave soldiers will do the needful, just give orders," said the singer-cum-politician.
Hans who belongs to Jalandhar in Punjab started his political journey from the Siromani Akali Dal (SAD) in 2009. However, in December 2014, he resigned from the party to join the Congress from which he jumped to BJP in 2016.
"The character of a man never changes. I am in politics for ten years, but if you spend some time with me, you will have my impression as an artist doing the talks."
The BJP has fielded Hans from the North West Delhi seat having a sizeable number of voters of his Valmiki caste. He will face AAP's Guggan Singh and Congress' Rajesh Lilothia in the contest.
"Dubbing me as an outsider reflects opposition candidates insecurity. I want to appeal to the residents of the constituency that I am an artist, I do not want people to loose their faith in artists, I will try to live up to my words.
"I have temporary residence here, I will have permanent accommodation soon. I am no stranger to this part of the city, I have frequented it performing as a singer."
Hans took a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his attacks on Modi over allegations of corruption in Rafale fighter jet deal.
"He has no vision. He appears to talk like a child and keeps on ranting Rafale, Rafale. The Supreme Court has now restrained him."
Hans will be involved in a triangular contest on the constituency which is "largest" in the country in terms of number of voters.
Congress has fielded its Delhi unit working president Rajesh Lilothia while the AAP has its candidate Guggan Singh in the fray.
Hans said he will ensure "social justice and social security" to residents of North West Delhi if elected as MP of the constituency. He also, listed mechanised clearing of sewers to stop deaths due to manual scavenging as his priority.
Besides Punjabi songs, Hans has also rendered a number of hugely popular Bollywood ditties including "Dil Tote Tote Ho Gaya" in the movie 'Bichhoo'.
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