In Gujarat, Modi hints Congress 'outsourced job' of abusing him to AAP

Modi warned against Congress which, he said, has stopped abusing him and is "working silently" to capture rural votes

In yet another veiled attack on the Aam Aadmi Party, which is said to have rattled the ruling BJP in the run up to Assembly polls with its strategic moves, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the Congress, which used to hurled choicest of abuses against him during every previous election, has "outsourced the work of abusing him" as part of its "new tactic."

The PM's remarks came while addressing party workers in Rajkot on Tuesday. The remarks are said to be in connection with a video clip of AAP's Gujarat president Gopal Italia calling Modi as "a lowly person". The old video clip is being shared by BJP leaders across the social media platforms to target AAP. On Tuesday, too, another old video of Italia was doing the rounds claiming temples to be "a den of exploitation" and asking women to read rather than dance in the temples to get their rights and rule the country.

He said that from Delhi is able to see what kind of game is being played out in Gujarat. "When you watch a cricket match on TV, you have a clear view of where the ball is moving as compared to watching the game in a stadium. Similarly, I get a good view of what kind of game is being played here in Gujarat. I have information about what is going on in Gujarat."

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"You must have seen previous elections. These people, who were denounced by Gujarat, left no stone unturned to destroy Gujarat's interest; harassed me for 20 years and defamed Gujarat by going to courts. Despite that Gujarat came out shining like gold test by fire. They hurled choicest abuses against me including calling me "maut ka saudagar" (merchant of death) to get votes," Modi said.

"Alerting" his party workers, the PM said, "You must have seen the Congress has come up with a new tactics. They are holding neither rallies or press conferences. Even if they are doing them, they don't use derogator terms against him. Congress is working silently, going to villages, shedding tears and asking for votes. They have suddenly gone silent and outsourced the contract of creating ruckus, making noises and abusing me and Gujarat to others."

During this three-day visit which ended Tuesday, Modi addressed several gatherings of party workers and public functions while inaugurating and laying foundation stones of development works to the tune of Rs14,600 crores. During his speeches, Modi invoked "Gujarati pride" and how some forces tried to "defame" it. He mentioned "urban naxals" behind stalling development projects. During his entire tour, Modi didn't directly mentioned AAP in his speeches.