Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi (file pic)
As
Narendra Modi once again slammed the UPA government at the Centre, this time at a rally in Kanpur, the Congress and the BJP exchanged allegations of fascism.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari opened the attack on Mr Modi, comparing him to Adolf Hitler. "When he (Mr Modi) talked about using the Indian film industry or Indian cinema to brand India, I was struck by the thought that way back in 1936 a gentleman wanted to use the Berlin Olympics for a similar branding and that mark of the swastika still haunts a lot of people around the world," he said in Mumbai today.
The BJP immediately hit back with party spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi targeting the Gandhi family.
"I think the gentleman in question knows a great deal about the history of 10, Janpath. He should know that Sonia Gandhi's father was a soldier in the fascist army of Italy. And so far as the history of India is concerned, the only dictator that this country has seen happens to be Indira Gandhi, who also is part of the history of Congress party and this family who he is subservient to," Ms Lekhi said.
The allegations came hours before Mr Modi ripped into the Congress at his rally in Kanpur. Yesterday, in Chennai he targeted the Prime Minister and select cabinet ministers, today his speech largely focused on Rahul Gandhi, who is seen by many as the likely rival of Mr Modi for the post of prime minister in the 2014 general elections. Calling the Congress vice-president a 'Shehzaada' (prince), Mr Modi said, "Those born with a golden spoon don't know what poverty is. They joke about it and then visit homes of the poor for photo-ops." (
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Mr Modi's rally was attended by over 1.5 lakh people, which the Congress said is not a yardstick to gauge his popularity. "Fat doesn't mean strength. People cannot be fooled this easily," Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury said.