Stung by Modi, Congress hits back

A day after Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi slammed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his remark that India was like a beehive, Congress stepped up and launched an offensive of sorts. It said that metaphors denoting cohesion and unity were beyond the comprehension of such "self appointed jingoists."

A day after Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi slammed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his remark that India was like a beehive, Congress stepped up and launched an offensive of sorts. It said that metaphors denoting cohesion and unity were beyond the comprehension of such "self appointed jingoists."

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"Amusing metaphors denoting energy, diligence, cohesion and focus unity of purpose completely go over the heads of some self appointed jingoists," I&B minister Manish Tewari posted on twitter, leading the attack.

Alluding to Modi's remark that India was like mother for him, Tewari said that one of the avatars of the Mother Goddess was 'Bhramari', the honey bee according to the Puranas. His tweet, he added, "would enrich understanding of those who politicise religion but have not found time to study India's spiritual traditions."

Union minister Kapil Sibal said "If they use their intelligence, their statements will also be intelligent, and what is the hurry to come to New Delhi."

Another Union minister Rajiv Shukla also hit out at Modi saying "He (Modi) is talking about Bharat Mata and not even a single BJP leader fought for the freedom movement for Bharat Mata."

In response, BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj sarcastically said, "The comparison made by Gandhi to a beehive is correct when it comes to the Congress. There is a queen bee, and all the other bees toil and gather honey, the taste of which is taken by the others and the queen bee does not do any work."