Your karma awaits you

New Delhi: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi by stating that his father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, was 'Bhrashtachari No 1 (corrupt number 1)', the Congress president hit back at him saying 'the battle is over.

Your Karma awaits you.' "…Projecting your inner beliefs about yourself onto my father won't protect you. All my love and a huge hug," Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Sunday.

Congress general secretary and Rajiv Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi too called Modi's remarks an "insult to the martyrdom" of the former PM.

"The prime minister who seeks votes in the name of martyrs insulted the martyrdom of a righteous and holy man," she tweeted. "The people of Amethi will respond to his remarks. This country never forgives the cheats," she added.

In an apparent reference to the Bofors scam in which Rajiv Gandhi was accused of receiving kickbacks from Swedish defence manufacturer Bofors, Modi in a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh said, "Your father (Rahul Gandhi's father) was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1'."

He also accused the Congress of harping on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft only to tarnish his image. Former Union Finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram said the Prime Minister had "crossed all limits of decency" with the 'Bhrashtachari No 1 remark.

Reminding Modi of a Delhi High Court order, Chidambaram said, "Does Modi read anything at all? Does he know that the charge against Rajiv Gandhi was thrown out by the High Court as completely baseless? Does Modi know that a BJP government decided not to file an appeal to the SC against the HC judgment?"

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said those who are 'pseudo-nationalist' and 'do politics of dividing people' will never understand Rajiv Gandhi and his sacrifices.

He said: "India will not forgive such people who have insulted, hurt and abused our martyrs. History is going to record the name of this pseudo nationalist in black ink for all his sins against the nation."