Adding a twist to the war of words between Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar and Narendra Modi, the Gujarat Chief Minister today said the former had insulted Mahatma Gandhi by equating him (Modi) with the Father of the Nation.

“Modi is a ‘bachcha’ (boy). Pawar has insulted Gandhiji by comparing me with him,” the chief minister said at a public rally here tonight.

Pawar had yesterday lambasted Modi saying “people of Maharashtra want Gandhiji’s and not Modi’s Gujarat.” “Gujarat is Maharashtra’s small brother. We changed everything and put our state on path of progress. Why couldn’t you in Maharashtra do it,” Modi said.

Stating that the agricultural growth rate of Gujarat in the last five years has been 14 per cent, he said the country’s farm sector, during Pawar’s tenure as agriculture minister had gone downhill.

He said foreign farmers are being paid much more when wheat is imported into India.Modi said there is a broker in New Delhi, working in favour of the foreigners.

Modi said, “A farmer from Thane earns Rs 700/kg for wheat whereas a foreign farmer earns Rs 1600. When Advani forms the government at the centre, the first thing I will do is to get rid of this broker who has cheated Indian farmers.”

Modi today launched BJP’s campaign for the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, asking voters to enthrone senior party leader L K Advani as India’s next Prime Minister.

“From this land that gave the country leaders like Lokmanya Tilak, let us pledge to make Advani as Prime Minister,” Modi said.

Lambasting Congress over its “lack of a credible leader for the top job in the country”, Modi said “Congress doesn’t have even a single leader who is ready to accept the current Prime Minister as leader of the country. How will this country run”.

“Congress is one party which has neither a leader nor a policy,” Modi said.

Modi also ridiculed NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s prime ministerial ‘ambitions’, saying “Pawar has been standing on the pitch for the last 15 years, wanting to become PM. Sometimes he gets out lbw (leg before wicket) and sometimes he gets himself self-out.” “No leader of UPA can aspire to win election without invoking my name at least once a day,” he said, referring to his criticism by Congress leaders.

Slumdog fever

In remarks dripped with sarcasm, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the “real credit” for Slumdog Millionaire’s Oscar glory should go to the Congress suggesting that but for the party’s rule for several decades there would not be any slums to be made into a movie.

The Congress quickly hit back at the senior BJP leader’s fresh offensive against the party alleging he has a “perverted mindset” which has become so much a part of his thinking.

At a rally in Thane Modi said that actor Paresh Rawal showed him a SMS in circulation nowadays that “the credit for Slumdog Millionaire getting Oscar awards should go to India’s ruling Congress party because without years of Congress rule there would not have been slums in India.”

The Chief Minister said he agreed with the spirit of the SMS to target the Congress saying, “…Because of slums we have a movie on it and as a result we have awards, so credit for the Oscars goes to the Congress party. It is a result of misdeeds of Congress and it is a Congress miracle.”

The Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said the reason as she saw for the Oscar glory has absolutely nothing to do with slums or there is anything to do with Congress rule.

“The remarks shows a perverted mindset which has become so much part of Mr Modi’s thinking,” she added.