After Rahul's jibe, Gadkari advises him to learn Marathi

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday suggested that Rahul Gandhi should learn Marathi to understand the comments he made after the Congress president posted a video of the senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader purportedly saying that his party had made 'tall promises'.

Gadkari said that in an interaction with a Marathi channel last week, he was asked about the promises made during the polls.

"The report is 100 per cent baseless," he said.

The senior BJP leader said he did not name the prime minister, the BJP nor did he speak of giving Rs 15 lakh.

"From when did Rahul Gandhi start understanding Marathi? He should have understood Marathi from someone. He had done this before.

"Without understanding it, he commented on what I did not say," Gadkari said.

Gandhi had on Tuesday shared the purported video on Twitter in which Gadkari says in Marathi his party had made 'tall promises' to the people.

Its English transcript quotes him as saying that they (BJP leaders) never thought they would come to power and were suggested to make 'tall promises'.

Gandhi in the tweet said, 'Rightly said. People also think that the government has made their dreams and hopes a victim of its greed.'

According to Gadkari, "So, during the Maharashtra state assembly polls (late BJP leader) Gopinath Munde ji and (Chief Minister) Devendra ji (Fadnavis) had told him to announce that toll would be abolished the BJP comes to power.

"I said let's not do it because this action will lead to problem as it will be difficult to implement it.

"Then they jokingly asked are we coming to power? I said, if we come to power then I have to solve it. I had said after so many years of staying opposition... when we prepared manifesto, we would make many assurances because we had not experience of being a party in power," he said.