New Delhi: A day after a union minister's praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as god's gift, the Congress on Monday took a potshot at Modi and asked if he was god's gift or oligarch’s gift to India.
"Whether he (Modi) is god's gift or the oligarch's gift to India, the jury is still out," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday dubbed Modi "god's gift to India" and a "messiah of the poor" and said India is recognised and respected everywhere because of him.
“What happened to Rs.15 lakh which you were supposed to get back and deposit in everybody’s bank account in 100 days. Why are food prices going through the roof? Why is it that the common man is not able to afford even the basic food items,” the Congress leader asked while referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party's promises in the run-up to the 2014 general elections.
Tewari also flayed Modi for his comments on caste-based reservation, which he made earlier in the day.
“The question to the Prime Minister is: Who raised the issue of revisiting reservation. Was it raised by the Congress? Was it raised by anybody in the opposition? The issue was raised by the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), by its chief Mohan Bhagwat.
"So, the prime minister would be well advised if he directs these queries with regard to revisiting reservation to its or to their ideological mentor,” Tewari said.
The Congress leader was referring to Modi's speech at the foundation-laying ceremony of the B.R. Ambedkar National Memorial here.