Digvijay calls Modi liar in wordy duel over relief

• Gujarat CM's Rambo act draws flak even from Shiv Sena
• Rahul Gandhi aerial-surveys flood-hit areas

Anita Saluja New Delhi: AICC General Secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh called Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi a liar. Giving an example, he said that Modi had stated that "Lady Finger comes from Gujarat, but it comes from Andhra." Digvijay, who seldom misses an opportunity to attack Rahul-baiters, wondered how Modi had rescued as many as 15,000 Gujaratis from Uttarakhand. Terming Modi as "Feku," Digvijay said, "Feku (Modi) comes and claims that he has rescued 15,000 people. One should not lie to such an extent." According to him, it was the ITBP and the Army that had rescued the pilgrims. Most of the people had already been rescued when Modi came to the State and boasted to have done the Rambo act. He advised Modi to work quietly, instead of making tall claims. Drawing comparisons between the style of functioning between Modi and Rahul, Digvijay said, "Modi went to Uttarakhand and boasted. Rahul did not do that." He said that Rahul went by road, stayed there and did not give any photo-ops like Modi. Digvijay advised the Gujarat Chief Minister, "You must be having followers on social networking websites, but the country cannot be duped. Don't befool the citizens of this country." While the attack on Modi by Congress came on expected lines, what has irked the BJP is the criticism from the Shiv Sena, as well, who found fault with Modi's publicists for boasting that he had rescued Gujaratis. Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, along with his spokesperson Sanjay Raut advised Modi that since he is now aspiring to become the Prime Minister, he should not think of Gujaratis alone but Indians as a whole. Raut stated that all the Chief Ministers, including Prithviraj Chavan of Maharashtra, had come forward to help the people of their State. In an editorial in his party's newspaper, Saamna, Thackeray wrote: "It would be better if Modi's propagandists exercise restraint in future". Rahul Gandhi visited the Char Dham airbase in Guptkashi on Tuesday and spoke to pilots and relatives of those, who have gone missing after the flash floods hit Uttarakhand. He flew in to Dehradun on Monday and went on an aerial survey of the State. Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi was allowed to fly to the devastated places, despite the request from Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who asked all the VIPs not to visit the ravaged State that is already facing paucity of resources. He said that along with the VIPs, the security people and the others refuse to come down, hampering the rescue work. "Even I did not visit Uttarakhand," stated Shinde. For Shinde, visiting the ravaged places was not considered important as was the case with Rahul Gandhi, who is competing with Modi on all fronts, whether it is addressing the industrialists or visiting Char Dham in Uttarakhand affected by floods. The rules were, therefore, bent for the AICC Vice-President, who happens to be the Prime Ministerial face of the party for the 2014 elections. Infuriated by the tweaking of rules, BJP President Rajnath Singh asked the Congress not to politicize Uttarakhand tragedy. "If Chief Ministers want to extend helping hand, they should be allowed.