Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday daring him to speak about the achievements of the Siddaramaiah government for 15 minutes without referring to a piece of paper.
This came as the PM delivered his speech at Santhemarahalli, Chamarajanagara, in the old Mysuru region, in the first rally of the last leg of campaigning ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, which is seen as the road to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“You speak in whatever language you want, Hindi, English, or your mother’s mother tongue. But speak about your government's achievements in Karnataka without a paper to refer? Do this in a political rally in Karnataka? Just speak for 15 minutes about this. And take the name of Visvesvaraya at least 5 times in that speech. Then people will decide how worthy your words are,” Modi asked.
On March 24, Rahul, in a speech, had failed to pronounce Sir M Visvesvaraya’s name.
Rahul Gandhi had previously dared Modi to give him 15 minutes in Parliament to speak on various issues, saying that Modi wouldn’t be able to sit through it.
“Rahul Gandhi had challenged me. He had said, ‘If I (Rahul) speak for 15 minutes in Parliament, Modi will not be able to sit (through it).’ Him speaking for 15 minutes is a big thing for me,” Modi said.
He also called Rahul ‘naamdaar’ (having famous surname) and claimed himself to be a ‘kaamdaar’ (a worker). He also emphasised on the fact that he comes from a humble background, while Rahul comes from a famous family.
“Rahul Gandhi, you are right, we cannot sit in front of you. You are naamdaar, we are kaamdaar. We cannot dress properly, can't sit in front of you. But we (the workers) have faced this for centuries from you. We have to build up patience, ” PM Modi added.
Before this, Modi also attacked Rahul for allegedly disrespecting Vande Mataram, where he allegedly asked for it to be shortened.