PM Modi's campaign in Gujarat on Saturday: In Pics

Over 68 percent turnout was recorded on Saturday in the first phase of polling for 89 Assembly seats in Gujarat.

Lunawada/Bodeli: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday latched on to tweets by one Salman Nizami who, he said, was a 'Congress leader' to tear into the Opposition party for allegedly questioning his parentage.

In a stinging attack on the Congress after former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar's "neech aadmi" (lowly sort of a person) remark, he said a 'leader' from the Opposition party, who, he claimed, is campaigning for Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat, has sought to know who is his father and mother.

At an election rally at Lunawada, the PM said India was his father and mother, and like a good son, he will spend his entire life serving the country.

"There is one Congress youth leader called Salman Nizami, who is campaigning for Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat. He said on Twitter that Rahul Gandhi's father (Rajiv Gandhi) and grandmother (Indira Gandhi) had sacrificed their lives, while his great grandfather (Jawaharlal Nehru) was a freedom fighter. Okay, very good, we do not have a problem with that. Then he (a reference to Nizami) went on to ask that Modi should answer who is his father and mother," he said, quoting from the purported tweets of Nizami.

"Do we use this language in public discourse? Do we ask such things, this Salman Nizami is their star campaigner?" PM Modi asked. 

Unprecedented fervour at the rally in Lunawada. pic.twitter.com/J0yvsSEIi0 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 9, 2017

Bodeli is all set to support BJP in the upcoming elections. Here are pictures from today's rally. pic.twitter.com/Wc2QBjeGpx — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 9, 2017

Coming to Mehsana feels special. In today’s rally I spoke about the good governance efforts of NDA Government at the Centre and BJP Government in Gujarat. Highlighted how Mudra Yojana is turning our youth into entrepreneurs and job creators. pic.twitter.com/um5KgtmuDP — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 9, 2017

મહેસાણા ખાતે લોકોના હૃદયસમ્રાટ વડાપ્રધાન શ્રી @narendramodi જીનું વિશાળ જનમેદનીને સંબોધન #Gujarat4Modi pic.twitter.com/s3KK9gUbJd — BJP Gujarat (@BJP4Gujarat) December 9, 2017

વડાપ્રધાન શ્રી @narendramodi જીનું મહેસાણા ખાતે લોકજુવાળ વચ્ચે થયું ભવ્ય સ્વાગત #Gujarat4Modi pic.twitter.com/SMFFET6Ckl — BJP Gujarat (@BJP4Gujarat) December 9, 2017

On the other hand, continuing his tirade over Aiyar's "neech" remark against him, he had on Friday read out a laundry list of "abuses" poured on him by Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and "her family members".

At another rally today in Bodeli, Chhota Udaipur district on Saturday, PM Modi asked does he become "neech" because he was born in a backward community.

"Here (at the Bodeli rally) people of OBC communities are sitting. I want to ask them, are we useless as we are born in backward class? Are we useless as we are born in backward community? Should we approve if someone says that we are 'neech'? he asked.

"It's time to throw such a party out of Gujarat," the PM said, stepping up his attack on the Congress. 

"They have lost everywhere in elections. They think if they can defeat Modi, then the chair can be kept vacant for their 'yuvraj' (a veiled reference to Rahul Gandhi). As they have (repeatedly) lost elections, they have started abusing me," he said. 

(With PTI inputs)