"Mr Narendra Modi has broad shoulders to face this propaganda. He went over the heads of the critics and directly spoke to the people and I think he did speak well. That is why people started relating to him," Jaitley said in reply to a question on the Gujarat Chief Minister's role in the post-Godhra riots.
He said Modi has since moved on but some people have an interest in remaining in that time-frame and they continue to raise the issue.
Modi has been termed as "divisive" by the Congress as well as the JD-U which moved out of the NDA alliance after 18 years in the wake of his anointment as head of the party's election campaign committee.
The Congress has been critical of Modi's governance in Gujarat that led to the post-Godhra riots in 2002.