Shivraj Singh Chouhan compares Narendra Modi to Mahatma Gandhi

Chouhan said the world that keenly listened to the Father of the Nation, now 'listens to' Modi

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mahatma Gandhi, saying like the world keenly listened to the Father of the Nation, it now "listens to" Modi.

"First, the world would keenly listen to everything Mahatma Gandhi said. Today, the world listens to Modiji," he said at the launch of the second phase of 'Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana' in the presence of BJP chief Amit Shah and Chief Ministers Anandiben Patel (Gujarat) and Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan).

In his speech, Shah compared Modi's campaign for giving up LPG subsidy by well-off people to that of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's call of voluntarily giving up one meal to deal with food shortage.

"The response to the appeal was unprecedented. Perhaps never before did any Prime Minister get such a massive response," Shah said.

"If we look back, perhaps (former PM) Lal Bahadur Shastri had made a similar appeal to the countrymen to stop eating dal-rice which received immense response and people had stopped eating it," the BJP chief said.

"On PM Modi's appeal, one crore people have left the (gas) subsidy which is not a small thing," he said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel said the Prime Minister had fulfilled promises made before the Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing the gathering, Raje said Modi always believed in working for the benefit of the poor.

Recently, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had hailed Modi as a "God's gift to India", drawing a sharp jibe from Congress which wondered whether his flattering chant was much different from Dev Kant Baruah's "India is Indira and Indira is India" remark for which he was castigated.