Modi thinks he can rule India through fear: P Chidambaram

New Delhi: Charging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks he can rule India by keeping the people in a state of fear, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday said the people will vote for a country "where the mind is without fear".

Hitting out at BJP chief Amit Shah for saying Congress can't keep India safe, the former home minister asked who kept the country safe in the three wars fought in 1947, 1965 and 1971.

"What is the meaning of keeping India safe if different sections of people -- women, Dalits, SCs, STs, minorities, academics, writers, journalists etc -- are unsafe?" he asked.

"Mr Modi thinks he can rule India by keeping the people in a state of fear. The people will vote for a country 'where the mind is without fear......,'" Chidambaram said alluding to the poem written by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.