BJP takes on Khurshid, calls him 'cockroach'

New Delhi, Aug. 16 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday hit back at External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid for his 'frog' jibe at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and described him as a cockroach who would survive any number of nuclear attacks by Pakistan.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said Khurshid doesn't look like or sounds like the Foreign Minister of India, but sounds most like the Minister for Foreigners.

"And somebody who would survive if Pakistan was to attack India with nuclear weapons, only one person will survive and that will be Salman Khurshid because only cockroaches can survive the nuclear attack," said Lekhi.

"Those who chose the language, they have to be answered in the same language because their understanding is limited and the message needs to be communicated in the language they best understand," she added.

Taking a jibe at Modi, Khurshid earlier in the day described the BJP's poll panel chief as a frog who has just come out of the well and is confused after looking around.

"Modi has come into the picture recently. Earlier, he was confined to Gujarat. The frog has just come out of well. He is slightly confused after looking around," he told media in Dehradun, while commenting on Modi's criticism of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's speech on the occasion of India's 67th Independence Day.

Modi yesterday dubbed the Prime Minister's speech as uninspiring, and accused him of taking a soft stand against Pakistan despite the recent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC).

Addressing the people of Gujarat on the occasion of Independence Day in Bhuj, Modi pointed out the failures of the UPA Government, especially with regard to the Prime Minister's omission of making a strong statement against Pakistan during his Red Fort Independence Day address.

Describing the Prime Minister's address as a 'disappointment', Modi alleged that Dr. Singh's speech mimicked that of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's on the country's first Independence Day, and questioned what the Congress had done if our problems still remain the same.

"The Prime Minister echoed the concerns that Pandit Nehru expressed at his first address. The question, then is, that what have you done in the last 60 years?" Modi asked.

"I challenge the Prime Minister to an open debate on all key issues," he added. (ANI)