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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's office in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on Friday sought to set the record straight on his reported comment that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was "like his daughter", by releasing an unedited version of his interview with Doordarshan.
Contrary to claims that he had referred to Priyanka as being "like his daughter" during the interview, the video released by Modi's office shows him praising her for going all out to ensure the victory of her brother (Rahul Gandhi) and mother (Sonia Gandhi).
The full tape of Modi's interview has been released to make it clear that he never said something which was mentioned in the media yesterday.
When asked about the Priyanka challenge, Modi had said in the interview: "I don't take these things seriously. Any sister will do anything to ensure her brother's victory. A daughter will do anything for her mother's victory. I agree with that, a daughter is a daughter. If she doesn't do it for her own mother, whom will she do it for? If she doesn't do it for her brother, whom will she do it for? I will never take offence of anything she says as a daughter? It is her right that she works hard for her mother."
Modi has also referred to Ahmed Patel, the political secretary of Sonia Gandhi, as a "good friend" in the unedited version of the interview.
"Ahmedbhai is among the best friends I have in Congress, but not now... I had a good friendship with him and would have preferred that it had remained so... but he now runs away from me and doesn't take my calls," Modi said in the interview.
Modi added that they had even dined at each other's house.
Meanwhile, Doordarshan has asserted that there was no deliberate editing or omission of any part of the Modi interview, adding that there was no interference from any authority in the entire process.
