Patna, March 4: Union Minister Giriraj Singh drew the Opposition's ridicule after he scored an apparent own-goal while attempting to brand those opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as anti-nationals. The BJP veteran, ahead of Modi's rally in Patna on Sunday, said those not attending the event would be deemed "traitors".

After drawing the red line, Giriraj himself landed in soup as he was among those absent at the Prime Minister's high-spectacle pre-poll event. Although he later cited "ill-health" as the reason for not being able to attend, voices from the Opposition camp asked him to apply "visa" for Pakistan. Lalu Yadav Compares Crowd at PM's Patna Rally With His Meetings at Paan Shop.

Lok Sabha MP Pappu Yadav said Giriraj has been proved as an "anti-national" by his own yardstick. Further ridiculing him, Yadav asked the senior BJP leader to reveal which country's visa has he applied for.

Similar potshot was taken by RJD leader Vijay Prakash, who said that Giriraj has been proved "anti-national" by his own logic. He, however, added, that the rally was given a miss by all "patriotic people of Bihar".

Meanwhile, Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP has demanded a public apology from Giriraj as he has been "proved an anti-national". The party's spokesperson Fazal Imam Malik asked the Minister to explain who should now be sent to Pakistan.

The rally held in Patna's Gandhi Maidan was the first joint poll campaign event attended by Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar since 2004. The latter, while addressing the cadres of BJP, LJP and JD(U), said their alliance is heading towards registering a victory in all 40 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, however, called the rally a flop show, saying that BJP-JD(U)-LJP failed to fill the Gandhi Maidan despite using the state machinery to bring their workers from all parts of the state. "I attend such crowd at paan shop," he quipped.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 05, 2019 12:03 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).