After Kejriwal, Rahul takes potshots at Modi on his home turf

Ahmedabad: As far as BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is concerned, it is more of Battleground Gujarat than Battleground India these days. Within days of Arvind Kejriwal's tirade against Modi at his Ahmedabad rally, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi took on Modi at a huge rally in Balasinore, central Gujarat, where the Congress has traditionally performed well.

Central Gujarat is where Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born. It is also the birthplace of India's most famous co-operative movement - Amul. "Gandhi and Sardar Patel talked of uniting everybody to fight against British. Those who want to build the statue of Sardar Patel should read a little bit about Sardar and his values. These same people opposed naming of Ahmedabad airport after Sardar Patel. Have these people forgot what Sardar Patel said about RSS," asked Rahul Gandhi.

He went on to state how the Bharatiya Janata Party had opposed the Amul movement when it was still in a fledging state. Modi, in his recent rallies, has been taking credit for the success of Amul. He went on to add jokingly, "Maybe after 10 years, BJP leaders will say that we gave the country NREGA and the Food Security Bill too."

This was one of Rahul Gandhi's fiercest attacks on Modi. "People of India do not need a watchman, they need rights. They need solutions. Lakhs of acres of land has been gifted away to corporates in Gujarat. Is this watchman-like behaviour? No. it's theft," he stated. And the inevitable likening to Hitler did figure in his speech, although indirectly. "Hitler thought people did not have knowledge. Only he had. He did not listen to people. Just passed down orders," he said.

These are indeed interesting times in the political theatre. Until now, Narendra Modi invariably set the agenda for political mudslinging, forcing his adversaries to react. It's changing now. Both Arvind Kejriwal and now Rahul Gandhi have dared him in his own backyard. And it is now for Modi to react to those allegations, which he will in his inimitable style. For the viewer and listener, the pitch is only going to get shriller.