Advani responsible for nurturing Narendra Modi: M Veerappa Moily

NEW DELHI: Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily today took potshots at the BJP patriarch L K Advani saying he was responsible for nurturing Narendra Modi on whose elevation his is now sulking.

Stating that both Advani and Modi were not good bets for the country, he said there was no comparison between the Gujarat Chief Minister and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi.

"There is no comparison at all. The Congress party is an inclusive party. It (BJP) is an exclusive party. And more so he (Modi) is more exclusive. So it is a double jeopardy," he told PTI when asked if 2014 General Elections will be Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi contest.

India, he said, is a secular country and Modi's elevation as party's campaign chief will "straightaway eliminate 25 to 30 crore" minorities from BJP's potential voters.

"Prospects (after Modi's elevation) are not good for (BJP-led) NDA (alliance), it is not good for BJP (as well)," he said. "This is not what I am saying, this is what Advani has said," he added.

Moily took a dig at Advani saying it was he who nurtured Modi. "After all Modi was nurtured by him. He owes that responsibility."

Referring to the blog Advani wrote while not attending his party's meeting in Goa, Moily claimed the example of Benito Mussolini cited by him was a reference to BJP President Rajnath Singh and Modi was Hitler.

"... examples of Mussolini (in the blog), he (Advani) means Rajnath, (by) Hitler he means Modi, He (Advani) said they go to hell ultimately. It has a lot of wisdom in it," he said.

Advani had in his blog wrote about Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meeting during the Second World War "in which Hitler tells the Italian supremo that the sins committed by the two of them would prove very costly for them after death."

Congress, Moily said, will oppose both Advani and Modi. "They are not good bet for the country," he said recalling the 2002 Gujarat riots.

"Gujarat (riots of 2002) cannot be erased from the memory of this country. It is not a question of Congress party. (Modi is) not good for the secular fabric of the country, for the inclusive fabric of the country. Any leader with a polarising image of polarising effect will not be good for the country," he said.