Modi dares Rahul to convince people of Gujarat

As the Congress plans to field Rahul Gandhi for campaigning in poll-bound Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi has challenged the young leader to "convince" people of the state "about his politics".

"Let Gujarat be a training ground for him and let him use all his skills to convince the people of Gujarat about his politics," he said on Congress' proposed move to field Rahul to counter him during the December Assembly polls.

"In this election, people have already set the agenda, not any political party," Modi said.

The chief minister, who is facing all round attack over the 2002 Gujarat riots, also dismissed criticism against him as a "passion" of a few.

"Let them (critics) do it (attack) but I am focused on development of the state," the chief minister told Sahara Samay channel.

He evaded reply when asked why his colleagues feel proud of bragging about the riots.

In the midst of a fresh controversy triggered by a sting operation on the 2002 post-Godhra riots, Modi said he was not averse to anybody's love for minorities, but was certainly against minorityism in politics.

"This is the precise reason why I took umbrage at the prime minister's statement in which he declared minority's first claim over resources," he was quoted as saying in a release by the channel.

He said the prime minister "later realised his mistake implicitly, but only after I raised the issue."