MP who once compared choosing Modi as PM to selecting dogs, gets BJP ticket in J&K

Two-time Congress Member of Parliament Choudhary Lal Singh, who parted ways with his party in August to join the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) to run for the Jammu and Kashmir elections from his home town and stronghold Basholi, is surely going to be red-faced after a video was leaked where Singh not only makes fun of but also questions the credentials of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In an interview with media-persons at Kathua in February this year, Lal Singh said on record that there was absolutely no comparison between the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi. And in the video below  Singh is seen saying that he feels sorry that people believe whatever Modi tells them, and wonders how a man who projects himself as a god can ever become the country’s PM. '

“How can you compare a king to an oil-seller? How can you compare Modi with Rahul Gandhi? Even when we buy a dog, we check its breed and lineage first. Similarly, when we buy a bull for ploughing fields, we first check whether it is fit to work. We never buy a bull whose hooves are not right. How can we have a leader whose hereditary background is unknown?,” he says in the video.

Singh is also seen predicting a Congress win in the Lok Sabha. “In 2014, the Congress will return to power (at the Centre), it is the only party that can rule the country. When there was financial crisis across the world, it was only due to the Congress government that India was not affected," he said.

He further slammed the BJP leadership comparing Modi and Lal Krishan Advani with Hindu gods and termed the act as highly shameful. He said that these leaders will never match the gods or the prophets.

Lal Singh has been Congress MP from Kathua-Udhampur Parliament Constituency till last Lok Sabha elections. In the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, the party replaced him and gave mandate to former Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, but he was defeated by BJP candidate Dr Jitendra Singh. Lal Singh thereafter quit the Congress and blamed Azad for the debacle in Jammu and Kashmir.

So what caused this change of heart given Singh’s long history of abusing the BJP and its ideology for years?

When contacted by the Indian Expres _s_ to explain the anti-Modi comments, Singh defended himself, saying the comments were only made through political necessity. “I had an election to win. But all that doesn’t mean anything now. Everyone knows Modiji is the man who will lead India into a bright future,” he said.

The Express report also quotes Ram Madhav, the party’s general secretary in charge of its poll campaign in Jammu and Kashmir, as saying that “In politics, people will articulate the line their party takes. When they shift the party, some of the statements they made may look contradictory. You should ask the person whether he still has the same views.”