Ahmed Patel, Congress leader from Gujarat and political secretary to the party president Sonia Gandhi, on said chief minister Narendra Modi was talking like a "dejected and frustrated" person.
Modi had yesterday said the Congress should declare Patel as the chief ministerial
candidate.
"I was never a contender for the post of CM, and will never be. I have always remained away from power politics," a statement released by the Congress here quoted him as saying.
"Ahmed Patel dubbed the comment of the chief minister as one made by a dejected and a frustrated person," it added.
"Instead of meddling in the internal affairs of Congress, Gujarat CM should concentrate on the squabbles within his own party," Patel said.
As the Assembly elections were drawing near, those who had cheated and misguided people of the state were now feeling that sand was fast slipping from beneath their feet and that's why they were making such baseless comments, he added.