Modi's address to Indian diaspora in America, sparks off controversy

Congress Party on Sunday hit out at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's address to the Indian diaspora in the United States of America through a live video conference on Saturday, in which he challenged UPA leaders to submit a performance report on nine-years of rule.

"He is helpless that he cannot go to America. So, he thinks that he can win by abusing Congress and interacting through video conferencing. I want to tell him that the growth rate was higher during UPA rule than BJP's tenure," Congress spokesperson Meem Afzal said.

Another Congress leader, Arun Modhwala, said that it was not appropriate on Modi's part to address the Indians living overseas on political issues.

"Modi didn't register the fact that he was addressing NRIs and so he shouldn't have raked up political issues while addressing them. He should have talked about the country and the world. But he addressed them keeping in mind the upcoming polls," he said.

Defending Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Vijay Sonkar Shastri said that Modi's statement on Congress responsible for an economic slowdown was 'true'.

"Modi has expressed his views about the country. It is true that the country's economic condition has been hampered by Congress," he said.

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Modi, in his speech, also hoped that the 2014 general elections, like in 1977, would reflect the voice of the people of India.

"This government, which has downgraded the country, has to go. Let us affirm that this Government has to go democratically. We should work for a progressive BJP government," he said.