Narendra Modi on Sunday hit back at Sonia Gandhi over her 'zeher ki kheti' barb saying it is the Congress which spews poison and reaps the harvest out of it with its divisive politics.
"Sonia Gandhi has told Rahul that power is poison. Who has been in power for most of the time during the last 60 years?.. In whose stomach has this poison gone? Who is spewing this poison? Who is harvesting the poison? They (Congress) are the ones who sow the seeds of poison," the Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate said at a rally in Meerut.
He said the country is seeking answers from Congress to its issues but its replies are wayward. “People are asking Sonia why farmers are committing suicide, her reply is people are sowing seeds of poison."
Modi's counter-attack came a day after Sonia at a rally in Karnataka accused Modi and BJP of indulging in divisive politics by "sowing seeds of poison" and instigating violence in their "hunger" for power.
In his 50-minute speech, Modi attacked the Congress, ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh and the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi and sought a mandate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by projecting himself as 'chowkidar' who will guard public funds.
The BJP's prime ministerial candidate said that he had made Gujarat free of riots and would make Uttar Pradesh also riot-free if his government is voted to power.
Accusing the Congress of driving a wedge between states and communities, Modi referred to the Telangana issue and said that the entire Andhra Pradesh is engulfed in the fire started by the manner in which the Congress had handled the issue.
"It is because they are following a police of divide and rule. You keep sowing seeds of poison and destroying the country."
He compared it with the creation of states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led national Democratic Alliance government and said that at that time celebrations had taken place.
