Hitting back at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi over his "sweat on forehead" tweet targeting him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said those born with a "gold spoon" are now mocking the sweat of poor.
Modi was apparently responding to Gandhi's tweet in Hindi posted on Monday that, when loosely translated, would read: "Wrinkle on the face, sweat on the forehead, Saheb (sir) appears to be scared. Don't know why his lips get sealed on the questions regarding Shah-zada (son of (Amit) Shah) and Rafale."
Modi is often referred to as 'Saheb' by his supporters and subordinates.
Modi, while addressing a rally at Palitana in Bhavnagar district, said, "You will never understand the value of a poor person's sweat, because you were born with a gold spoon. Since you don't understand what kind of pain poor go through, you are mocking their sweat."
"You always had a grudge against Gujarat. People know how you treated Sardar Patel and Morarji Desai. Now, Modi is your target. Due to this hatred, you are feeling uneasy about the sweat on a Gujarati's forehead. Those born in a royal family with a gold spoon, will never understand the true value of our sweat," the prime minister added.
He said on one side there are Gujaratis who are walking the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi, a "fakir" (an ascetic), and on the other, "there are descendants of another Gandhi, who belong to a royal family. It is up to us whether to walk the path shown by the fakir or the path of those who were born with a gold spoon.
"Though they have not seen poverty or the pain attached to it, they are now teaching us," he said without taking any names.
(With PTI inputs)