'We don't abuse. We only…': Congress leader's reply after Modi's dig at AAP

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Congress has outsourced the work of abusing him ahead of the Gujarat assembly elections, the grand-old party's general secretary in charge of communication Jairam Ramesh hit back saying “we don't abuse" and "only point out the litany of falsehoods”.

Addressing a rally in Jamkandorna town of Rajkot district, Modi launched a veiled attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which is trying to make inroads into the state. He also warned BJP workers and supporters to be aware of the opposition Congress.

Modi’s remark came two days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed AAP’s Gujarat chief Gopal Italia for allegedly calling the former a “neech aadmi” (a lowly person).

“They (Congress) are not holding rallies or addressing press conferences and even if they are doing, they don’t say anything derogatory against me. The Congress is working silently, going to villages, shedding tears and asking people to vote for them. The contract for using abusive language against me has been outsourced by the Congress,” he said, without naming the AAP.

Reacting to the comments, Ramesh said the Congress doesn't outsource exposing “Jhootjeevi” by using “another of the similar species”.

"PM cries that the Congress has outsourced ‘abusing’ him to AAP Completely wrong!

1. We don't abuse. We only point out the litany of falsehoods that flow from the PM's mouth, every time he opens it.

2. We don’t outsource exposing Jhootjeevi by using another of the similar species," Ramesh tweeted.

On Sunday, BJP’s IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya shared a purported video of Italia on Twitter wherein the latter can be heard calling Modi a “neech aadmi”. The BJP called it an “insult to the democratic process of India and the state”.

The AAP, a new entrant to the poll fray in the state, on Monday defended its party leader and accused the BJP of targeting Italia as he belongs to a poor family.

In the run-up to the Gujarat assembly polls in 2017, former Union minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had stoked controversy by using the same term for Modi. While the Congress suspended him from its primary membership, it revoked its decision nine months later.