Thanks to chaiwala, Gandhis brought to court's door: PM

'Now I will see how you escape...'

Taking on the Gandhi family a day after the Supreme Court ordered that income tax cases against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi be reopened, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi on Wednesday said his government had scored a win thanks to the courage of a chaiwala.

Alleging that the Gandhi family had been enjoying privileges for four generations, Modi told an election rally in Sumerpur in Pali district that it was the "victory of the honest".

"Now I will see how you escape... Look at the courage of a chaiwala who took those running country for four generations to the court's door," Modi said.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed the income tax department to reopen the tax assessment of Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi for 2011-2012 in connection with the National Herald case.

In his rally on the last day of campaigning before the Rajasthan assembly election on Friday, Modi also referred to the extradition of Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman in the politically sensitive Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland chopper deal from the United Progressive Alliance era. Michel was brought to India late on Tuesday.

"The government has brought the middleman involved in a helicopter scam from Dubai. He served politicians and will now disclose secrets," the prime minister said.

"Let's see how far this goes," he said.

Continuing his attack against the Congress, Modi asked the gathering who had spread the venom of casteism and created urban-rural divides.

The Congress, he asserted, had lost the election and was now contemplating who to hold responsible for its defeat.

"The Congress's 'gaaje-baaje' company thought the BJP was finished in Rajasthan. Now they are saying they are losing due to infighting and rebel candidates," he declared.

Making a final push for his party, he said people were clearly in the BJP's favour in the desert state and it would once again form the government.

"The public has decided. Now it is our job to win every booth in Rajasthan. Our mantra should be 'Mera polling booth, sabse mazboot'," Modi said.

The results for the election will be declared on December 11.

To prove himself superior, Modi can demean Gandhi, Patel and others: Rahul

Rahul Gandhi said Modi showed his need to prove his superiority by questioning Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and asserting that Kartarpur went to Pakistan due to the lack of wisdom of the leaders of that time.

His attack on Modi came a day after the prime minister alleged that Kartarpur went to Pakistan at the time of independence because Congress leaders of that time had no vision and did not respect Sikh sentiments.

In a Facebook post in Hindi, Gandhi said Modi was now questioning Patel and implying Kartarpur went to Pakistan due to the lack of wisdom of the leaders of that time.

'What is in Prime Minister Modi's mind has finally been articulated... to prove himself superior to others, he can demean Gandhi, Patel and other leaders,' Gandhi said.

Correcting the Congress mistakes was his 'destiny', Modi told an election meeting in Rajasthan on Tuesday while referring to the opening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor across India-Pakistan border.

The foundation stone for the much-awaited corridor linking the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur -- the final resting place of the Sikh faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev -- to the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India's Gurdaspur district was laid last week.