Gandhinagar, Jan 29 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, airing his concern at rising prices, has again raised the question of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, prompting an angry response from the party.
Addressing a a public meeting at Patan in north Gujarat Thursday night, Modi lashed out at the Congress-led central government for not responding to his letters for steps to curb the rising prices and wondered whether he would have to write in Italian to achieve his purpose.
"The central government seems deaf to my entreaties on curbing rising prices. I think I will now need to write in Italian," he said.
The chief minister said he wrote several letters to the central government but these failed to elicit any response.
"I have written letters in the language they can understand, urging them to take steps. But I think they have no empathy for the poor and it seems they are not willing to take steps to control rising prices," he said.
The Congress Friday reacted strongly to Modi's statements.
Leader of opposition Congress in the Vidhan Sabha Shaktisinh Gohil said: "Modi seems to thrive on the language of the ruffians. No wonder that the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) lost in all the seats where he campaigned during the last Lok Sabha elections."
Gohil said there was no place for such remarks in democracy. "People who sit in high positions need to uphold the dignity of these places," he added.
In New Delhi, the Congress said it did not want to dignify Modi's remarks with a response.
"Modi has lost it," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
"Only Modi can make such a preposterous statement. I cannot possibly dignify such comments by speaking from this podium," Tewari said in response to queries about Modi's remarks.