Controversy erupts after Sheila's comment on Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: Controversy irrupted on Thursday after Delhi Pradesh Congress chief Sheila Dikshit in a TV interview allegedly said that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not as strong as his successor, PM Narendra Modi, in tackling cross-border terrorism. While the BJP top brass came down in the support of the statement, Delhi's ruling AAP lashed out at Dikshit over her statement.

However, Dikshit had said that her comments had been taken out of context. She had tweeted, "I have seen some media is twisting my comments made in an interview. Here is what I said — it may seem to some people that Mr Modi is stronger on terror but I think this is a poll gimmick more than anything else.."

Taking to Twitter, BJP Chief Amit Shah said, "Thank you Sheila Dikshit ji for reiterating what the nation already knows but the Congress party is never ready to admit."

After the statement the AAP top leaders alleged that there is a secret pact between Congress and BJP. The bitter rival Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who defeated then CM Sheila Dikshit by nearly 25,000 votes missed not word to slam Dikshit. "The statement of Congress leader Sheila Dikshit praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi is really surprising and indicates something is going on between the BJP and the Congress." AAP has consistently maintained over the years that depending on their convenience according to time and situation, the BJP and Congress do not hesitate to come together. Delhi is one of the prime examples which witnessed this phenomenon many times during last four years when Congress did not hesitate even for a moment to join hands with the BJP.

AAP leader and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said, "We have been saying this since the beginning that this time the Congress is working to make Modi ji the Prime Minister once again."