Narendra Modi takes swipe at Sonia Gandhi for her televised appeal

Narendra Modi today took a swipe at Sonia Gandhi for her televised appeal, saying it reflected her realisation that her son Rahul Gandhi had not delivered on the election front.

"All of a sudden Sonia Gandhi has come to the fore to take charge of the (election) campaign. She had thought that her son would do something. But when nothing happened. What could she do? The mother herself had to come to the fore, appear on TV to deliver advertised messages to the nation," the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate said on her message televised last night.

"You must have seen this paid news. They have lots of money, they can buy TV (channels), they can buy time on TV and tell what they want to say," Modi said addressing a rally here.

Sonia Gandhi had last night appealed to people to defeat "divisive and autocratic" forces which will "destroy" the Indian ethos.

Modi said when Gandhi says her party respects democratic traditions, it is something that cannot be easily digested.

"In 2004, when your (Congress) government was formed, what was your first action? Without following any democratic practice or without consulting any Chief Minister, you removed governors. Is this a sample of you honouring democratic traditions?"

The Gujarat Chief Minister also accused the Congress of creating tensions between IB and CBI for its political objectives.