Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday claimed that the Congress gave India democracy and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held office because of the party's contribution.
Shivakumar was responding to PM Modi's remarks that the Congress had been trying desperately for several years to launch its leader Rahul Gandhi.
"Congress has a long history. Even the PM knows that without Congress, this country wouldn't have seen democracy. This is a party which has given democracy. If at all he is the PM today, it is due to the Congress Party's contribution to India's leadership and democracy," Shivakumar told reporters.
"One should not forget the root. If you forget the root, you will not get the fruit," he said.
PM Modi on Thursday criticised the opposition Congress, saying that while the world was searching for a "new order", some people were dreaming of "disorder" in India.
In a direct attack on Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Modi said the Congress had made more failed attempts to launch its leader than the number of rockets India launched from Sriharikota in a year.
Responding to the BJP's criticism of Gandhi's repeated foreign trips and its allegation that he returned from them and tried to destabilise the government, Shivakumar said the Congress leader was invited abroad by political leaders, business leaders and universities.
"He is a leader. Many foreign political leaders, business leaders and universities request him. He is a leader whom the entire world is looking at," Shivakumar said, according to PTI.
Shivakumar's comments came amid an exchange between the Congress and the BJP over Rahul Gandhi's leadership and his visits abroad.
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