Kalraj Mishra and Smriti Irani said the comments by the Congress Vice-President showed that he was "worried" and "disturbed" about the prime minister's "growing popularity" and was "desperately" looking to save his political legacy.
Taking a dig at Modi's 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign line that "Achhe Din" will come when BJP comes to power, Rahul yesterday said that only Congress' return to power in 2019 will usher good days.
"Earlier, these people used to swim in water and eat everything. They grew large but now that they don't have the opportunity to eat, they are struggling like fish out of water," the Union Minister said, referring to corruption.
Later, in a brief chat with reporters, Naidu took strong exception to Congress and Trinamool Congress' outbursts against the Prime Minister.
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"The Trinamool has deteriorated further and calling even the Prime Minister's parents' names," he said.
"All this has only exposed the frustration of the Opposition parties."
He asked the Opposition to listen to the 'high praise' that CEOs of foreign companies have 'lavished' on Modi.
"Yesterday, Rahulji had said some words about our Prime Minister. Congress's repeated defeat in elections is an indication that people have shown faith in Modi's leadership and their support and blessings are with Narendrabhai Modi," Irani told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on textiles at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar.
"I would only like to say that people's support and trust for Modi is the biggest reply to Rahulji," she added.
Mishra, who is Minister for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, also targeted rahul for his comments against Modi over note ban.
"Rahul Gandhi does not have anything substantial to talk about. PM has earned accolades from across the world by successfully implementing demonetisation, which was not a small step. It is evident that the Congress leader is disturbed by seeing PM's rising popularity graph. Congress leaders feel that they are on the verge of extinction," Mishra told reporters in Ahmedabad.
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