Congress takes jibe at entry fee to Modi rally

The Congress Tuesday took a jibe at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi over the proposed Rs.5 entry fee for his rally in Hyderabad next month. But the BJP defended the move saying the money was for the relief of Uttarakhand flood victims.

The Bharatiya Janata Party also accused the Congress of sprinkling salt on the wounds of the flood victims.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari tweeted that the market has discovered "true value" of Modi's speech.

"To hear a Baba pravachan (sermon), a ticket costs Rs.100-100,000, a cinema ticket costs Rs.200-500 even for a box office flop, to hear the chief minister Rs.5, the market discovers true value," Tewari posted on social networking site Twitter Tuesday.

The BJP defended its decision to collect Rs.5 from people attending the Aug 11 public meeting in Hyderabad to be addressed by Modi, saying it was a voluntary contribution and the money would be used for the relief work in Uttarakhand.

BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said that Tewari was acting more like Congress spokesperson than a union minister.

"Congress was sprinkling salt on the wounds of victims of Uttarakhand floods," he said.

Hussain said that the money would be used to provide succour to people hit by floods in Uttarakhand and politicisation of the issue was "unfortunate".

BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said the money was being collected towards relief work in the flood-hit state.

He told reporters that it was only a voluntary contribution aimed at promoting sense of participation. Naidu also clarified that Rs.5 would be collected only from those who can afford to pay.

The BJP leader dismissed criticism by the Congress saying the ruling party was making allegations as it was unable to digest the growing popularity of Modi.

"Congress is rattled by Narendra Modi. They are not able to digest the growing popularity of Narendra Modi. That's why they are making such allegations," he said.

"Congress show itself is a flop show. Congress has been running a flop show in this country for the last 50 years," Naidu said while responding to Tewari's remarks.

BJP's Andhra Pradesh unit president G. Kishan Reddy clarified that party has not printed any tickets for the public meeting. He said the token amount was being collected towards registration from those who can afford to pay. "This is not compulsory to attend the public meeting," he said.

The BJP leaders expect more than 100,000 people for the public meeting to be held at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad.

This will be the first public meeting of Modi in south India after he was named chairman of BJP's campaign committee for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.