Narendra Modi today slammed Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, who loses no opportunity to put the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate in the line of his fire, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for calling India poor during their foreign visits.
At a rally here, Modi took on Ramesh in his home district of Chikmagalur, for calling India the "dirtiest and laziest" country in the world during his foreign visits.
"Nowadays, there is a minister in Congress who has studied in a foreign country and was born here in Chikmagalur. He says India is the dirtiest and laziest country in the world. What type of a son is he of Mother India. He goes to a foreign land, eats food in his aunty's house and starts abusing his mother (India)," he said.
Modi also criticised Singh for calling India a poor nation during his meeting with the US President Barack Obama. "One said India is dirty and what did Prime Minister say when he went to America? He told Obama that his country is poor. Is there any need for telling this to Obama? Will Obama remove poverty?" he said.
He also flayed Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram for calling India poor for the last 5,000 years.
"These (Ramesh, Singh and Chidambaram) people are darlings of Madam Sonia and special people of Shehzade (Rahul Gandhi)," he said.
"India was never a poor country because this was the country known as the 'Golden Bird', where ghee and milk also used to flow. For this very reason, this country was invaded on several occasions," Modi said.
Modi said he had suggested to Ramesh to start packaging institutions in Chikmagalur, coffee growing district, to promote sale of coffee globally, but he did not put it in place. Congress party is not rooted to the ground."
Referring to Indira Gandhi, who won a by-election from Chikmagalur that resurrected her politically in 1978, Modi said he would do ten times more work than the late Prime Minister, who was saved by the people of Chikmagalur in her crisis. "You saved Indira Gandhi from crisis. After that she did something for you (Chikmagalur), but I will do ten times more than her.
