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Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram for their inept handling of the economy, with their 'bookish knowledge'.
"They say we don't want to learn economics from Modi, but you should have at least learnt from P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Then you would have understood how to run the country. Both were not considered economists, but the two great leaders were aware of the country's problems."
Addressing three different rallies in the national capital, which goes to polls on December 4, Modi said, "A top-ranking minister in the Centre, who considers himself to be all-intelligent, thinks he has got all the brains in the world and the others are brainless. The same minister said prices were rising because the poor, earlier eating only dry bread, are eating two vegetables. Tell me, are prices rising due to this?"
Modi was accompanied by the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, and the chief ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Harsh Vardhan. The Congress called Modi a "poorly-educated" man "talking foolish" in his attempt to rival a highly-educated prime minister.
"Modi's speeches are becoming like a stand-up comedy circus show. It is becoming monotonous. However, even then, the BJP leaders of Delhi have fielded him in Delhi. Even on the radio advertisements, leaders like Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh are coming," said All India Congress Committee (AICC) General-Secretary Shakeel Ahmed.
For the first time, perhaps, Modi referred to the snooping scandal which involved illegal surveillance of a woman. Modi said Congress had earlier resorted to such "tricks" too.
"They tried every trick to discredit me. But Gujarati people have defeated those attempts. Despite allegations that Congress made through Facebook and Twitter, people of Gujarat gave a befitting reply," he said.
Modi criticised Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit over the price rise in the Capital, rising power tariffs and the corruption in the Commonwealth Games.
