India's Modi duels with his predecessor amid local election
Posted December 13, 2017 6:00 am
NEW DELHI (AP) - India is witnessing the unusual spectacle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi locked in a bitter verbal duel with his predecessor and accusing the opposition of holding secret meetings with officials from archrival Pakistan to impact local elections.
Modi, who swept to power in 2014 national polls, threw the first punch over the weekend when he alluded to "secret meetings" at a dinner at a senior Congress party leader's home to allege that Pakistan was somehow meddling in the ongoing elections in his home state of Gujarat.
The unsubstantiated claims prompted a sharply worded response from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a guest at the dinner party and a man known more for awkward silence than angry words.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, file photo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, front, stands with his former counterpart Manmohan Singh, left, in one minute silence to pay homage to security officials who lost their lives in the 2001 attack on Indian parliament, in New Delhi, India. Against the backdrop of an increasingly personal and bitterly fought local election, India is witnessing the unusual spectacle of Modi locked in a bitter verbal duel with his predecessor, accusing the opposition of holding secret meetings with officials from archrival Pakistan to impact the polls. The unsubstantiated allegations have prompted a sharply worded response from Singh. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2017, file photo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's supporters wear his masks during an election campaign rally addressed by Modi at Jasdan in Gujarat, India. Against the backdrop of an increasingly personal and bitterly fought local election, India is witnessing the unusual spectacle of Modi locked in a bitter verbal duel with his predecessor, accusing the opposition of holding secret meetings with officials from archrival Pakistan to impact the polls. The unsubstantiated allegations have prompted a sharply worded response from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2017, file photo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during an election campaign rally at Jasdan in Gujarat, India. Against the backdrop of an increasingly personal and bitterly fought local election, India is witnessing the unusual spectacle of Modi locked in a bitter verbal duel with his predecessor, accusing the opposition of holding secret meetings with officials from archrival Pakistan to impact the polls. The unsubstantiated allegations have prompted a sharply worded response from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, file photo, an Indian polling official checks an electronic voting machine at a dispatch center before proceeding to his allotted station for the second phase of voting for the Gujarat state assembly elections in Ahmadabad, India. Against the backdrop of an increasingly personal and bitterly fought local election, India is witnessing the unusual spectacle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi locked in a bitter verbal duel with his predecessor, accusing the opposition of holding secret meetings with officials from archrival Pakistan to impact the polls. The unsubstantiated allegations have prompted a sharply worded response from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2017, file photo, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during an election campaign rally at Dhandhuka in Gujarat, India. Against the backdrop of an increasingly personal and bitterly fought local election, India is witnessing the unusual spectacle of Modi locked in a bitter verbal duel with his predecessor, accusing the opposition of holding secret meetings with officials from archrival Pakistan to impact the polls. The unsubstantiated allegations have prompted a sharply worded response from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, file photo, an Indian man on election duty carries electronic voting machines to distribute them ahead of the second phase of voting for the Gujarat state assembly elections in Ahmadabad, India. Against the backdrop of an increasingly personal and bitterly fought local election, India is witnessing the unusual spectacle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi locked in a bitter verbal duel with his predecessor, accusing the opposition of holding secret meetings with officials from archrival Pakistan to impact the polls. The unsubstantiated allegations have prompted a sharply worded response from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)
The Associated Press
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