In the wake of his remark that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was interested in "personal PR", Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today came under a sharp attack from the ruling dispensation as it slammed his "ill- informed and amateurish" views and quoted Swami Vivekananda to suggest that he should "arise, awake and realise the truth".
Lashing out at Gandhi for his barb that Modi was engaging in "personal PR", the NDA government said that the remarks show that the party was "rattled" by US President Barack Obama's successful visit to India.
"Congress leader's criticism of the Prime Minister is ill- informed, amateurish and prejudiced. It is borne of envy and shows a clear insecurity over their steadily dwindling political fortunes," Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said in a statement here.
Earlier, opening an attack on Modi, Gandhi accused him of being interested in "personal PR" and working for a few select industrialists.
Addressing a road show here, Gandhi also alleged that the NDA government has not been able deliver anything concrete in the last eight months.
Rubbishing the criticism, Naidu said that he was amazed by Gandhi's comments on Modi.
"Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the prime minister only shows to what extent the Congress is cut off from the reality of changes in the country and the significance of the initiatives of our government led by Modi.
"It clearly appears that the Congress and its leadership is rattled by the successful visit of US President Barack Obama," Naidu said.
BJP too hit back at Gandhi over his barb at Modi and said it seems that the Congress leader is "still in his sleep".
"It seems that due to his over-busy schedule, Rahul Gandhi is unable to realise the truth and ground reality of Indian politics. He was unable to realise the reality before elections and even now he is unable to realise it.
"It seems he is still in his sleep. I would like to quote a sentence by Swami Vivekananda which says - 'Arise, awake and realise the truth'," said BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi.
