"This shows the misplaced priorities of the Modi government," Nirupam said in a statement.
He said that Gadkari's attack on the Navy, who is guarding our borders is a clear case of "hypocrisy" by the BJP government.
"On the one hand, they say that this is a government that works and respects the jawans, while on the other hand Gadkari has directly attacked and showed disrespect towards the Navy," the Congress leader said.
Gadkari, while speaking at a function in Mumbai yesterday, had wondered why all Navy officials need to stay in posh South Mumbai.
He had said that "not an inch" of land would be given to Navy to build flats or quarters in South Mumbai. Gadkari's public displeasure came in the backdrop of the Navy declining permission for building a floating jetty at Malabar Hill in south Mumbai, where a floating hotel and seaplane service are planned.