Chidambaram's pakoda jibe backfires; Congress insulting the poor, says BJP

Prime Minister Modi respects poor people who work hard to earn their livelihood: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday accused Congress of insulting "poor Indians" after its leader P Chidambaram took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying that a 'pakoda' (fried snacks) seller earning Rs 200 a day should also be considered employed.

"Prime Minister Modi respects poor people who work hard to earn their livelihood. Congress and P. Chidambaram make fun of them," said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar while responding to Chidambaram's tweet earlier in the day.

"Even selling pakodas is a 'job', said PM. By that logic, even begging is a job. Let's count poor or disabled persons who are forced to beg for a living as 'employed' people," the former finance minister tweeted in response to the Prime Minister's assertion, which he made during a TV interview last week.

The human resource development minister further said that the Congress has always treated poor people as a "voting bloc", whereas the BJP has been generating the employment for them.

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey echoed similar sentiments and said, "What has Congress done for the country after Independence? Earn as much as you can for yourself and let the country beg, is the attitude that Congress works with.