Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday cited the Q3 GDP figure to defend his note ban decision and launched a veiled attack on his predecessor Manmohan Singh for predicting that the decision would spell doom for the economy.

“The GDP figure shows that those who are from Harvard and Oxford have little understanding of the Indian economy... a hardworking man understands it better,” Modi said, addressing election meetings at Maharajganj and Deoria in Uttar Pradesh.

He said that being the “son of a poor mother”, he had a better understanding of the economy of the country. Modi lambasted his political rivals for casting doubts on the GDP figure. The prime minister took potshots at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, and without taking Rahul’s name, said he did not know about villages.

“The Congress leader talks about growing potatoes in factories and selling coconut juice in England. He has no idea that potatoes are not grown in factories and there is no juice in coconuts — its water,” Modi said.

Referring to the UP government’s official website, Modi said it read: “in UP, life was short and uncertain”. “Akhilesh Yadav himself admits to UP’s poor state of affairs,” he said. Modi also referred to various welfare schemes initiated by the centre and said that a majority BJP government was needed in UP to ensure all-round development.