Narendra Modi today seemed to have already donned the mantle of BJP's prime ministerial candidate when he said the nation would be comparing his speech with that of Prime Minister on Independence Day tomorrow, a remark ridiculed by Congress.
"When we unfurl the tricolour, the message will also go to Lal Quila (Red Fort). Nation will want to know what was said there and what is said here (in Bhuj)," the Gujarat Chief Minister said addressing a gathering of youth at Bhuj in Kutch district.
"On one hand there will be a series of promises, whereas on the other there will be the account of work done. On one side there will be despair (nirasha) and on the other side hope (asha)," he said.
Reacting to Modi's statement, Communication and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said in Delhi that those hearing him will be curious as to what misstatement of facts he is now going to make.
"I hope he does not trivialise national issues and makes misstatement of facts which he is prone to make," Sibal, who is also in charge of law ministery, said.
"They (the people) will probably be curious to hear what misstatements of facts Mr Modi is now going to make. Every time he makes a speech, there are some false figures, false facts which he knows to be false like 20 per cent of GDP of China is spent on education."
The remarks of Modi, BJP's election campaign committee chief, also drew a caustic response from Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla, who said the Gujarat leader was "full of arrogance".
"I keep saying from day one that he is full of arrogance, full of himself. If this kind of a person gets higher in politics what he will do to the country one can understand," he said in Delhi.
The official Independence Day function in Gujarat is being held in Bhuj where Modi will hoist the national flag.
Modi also took a dig at Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi without naming him.
"When children grow up, parents advise them to settle down. But today children are telling their parents that they are not averse to marriage, but they are waiting for an opportunity to become the 'sarkari damaad'".
