Union Minister Anurag Thakur accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of insulting India during his visits abroad over remarks he made at the 'Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' event organised by the Indian Overseas Congress USA in Santa Clara in the US state of California on Tuesday.
The Congress leader took a swipe at PM Modi and said that there are people in India who think they know more than God and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "one such specimen".
Reacting sharply, Thakur said,” During his foreign visits, Rahul Gandhi insults India, which is unacceptable. He wants to insult PM Modi but ends up insulting India, questioning India's progress. He is trying to tarnish India at a time the world is acknowledging our growing stature."
"PM Modi met almost 24 PMs and Presidents of the world and held over 50 meetings during his foreign visit recently. Several world leaders say Modi is the most popular leader. When the Australian PM said 'PM Modi is the Boss', Rahul Gandhi could not digest this," added the Union Minister, according to NDTV.
In his speech, Rahul Gandhi also said "They can sit with God and explain to him what’s going on. And of course, our prime minister is one such specimen. If you sat Modiji with God, he will explain to God how the universe works and God will get confused about what have I created.” This evoked peals of laughter from hundreds of his Indian American supporters.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi also hit back at Rahul Gandhi for targeting PM Modi in the United States.
Joshi described the former Congress president as a "fake Gandhi" and as a person "who knows nothing" but has become an expert on everything.
"That is the disease. We have a group of people in India, who are absolutely convinced that they know everything. In fact, they think they know even better than God. They can sit down with God and have a conversation and explain to him about what is going on. Of course, our prime minister is one such specimen," Gandhi said.
Hitting back at Gandhi, Joshi claimed that the Congress leader's knowledge of history did not go beyond his family.
"It is funny how someone who knows nothing is suddenly an expert on everything. A man whose historical knowledge does not go beyond his family is talking about history," the senior BJP leader said.
"A man who claimed to produce gold out of potatoes is giving lectures about science and a man who never ventured beyond family affairs now wants to lead India's warfare," Joshi said.
"No Mr. Fake Gandhi! The core of India is its culture. Unlike you, who use foreign soil to tarnish the country, Indians are very proud of their history and can very well defend their geography," the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.