'Modi's campaign is about himself. Has he forgotten he is PM?' Chidambaram attacks BJP

NEW DELHI: Days ahead of Gujarat polls, former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP for their Modi-centered election campaigns.

In a series of tweets posted on Tuesday, the Congress leader wrote, “Mr Modi's campaign is about himself, his past and the alleged disdain of Gujarat and Gujaratis. Has he forgotten he is Prime Minister of India?” 

“The Gujarat election is not about Mr Modi, the individual. It is about the promised achhe din that has not come in 42 months,” he added. 

Lashing out the BJP's Gujarat developmental model, Chidambaram wrote, “Why does PM not talk about joblessness, lack of investment, collapse of SMEs, stagnant exports and price rise? Because he has no answers to the hard reality.” 

The Congress leader further wrote, “Mr Modi has forgotten that Gandhiji was an Indian and son of Gujarat; Gandhiji was, and is, revered as Father of the Nation; and Gandhiji's chosen instrument to lead the freedom struggle was the Congress party. 

PM and BJP may now desperately embrace Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, but the redoubtable Sardar had rejected the BJP's parent RSS and its divisive ideology.”

The Prime Minister on Monday addressed several rallies in Gujarat, including Bhuj and Rajkot, where he asked the Congress to not mock his poor origins. 

Hitting back at the Congress over “chai wala” jibe, saying, PM Modi said, “I sold tea but I did not sell the nation”.

The battle for Gujarat has intensified with both Congress and BJP launching scathing attacks at each other.

The Gujarat elections will be held on December 9 and 14, with counting on December 18.