Jayanthi Natarajan slams Narendra Modi

CHENNAI: Hitting out at BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan today said she was surprised over his touring the country when children in his own state were "suffering" without food.

She also wondered how he could protect the nation. "We hear that lakhs of children are suffering without food in Gujarat. While he is not able to give protection to his own state, I'm amazed and surprised as to how he is touring the whole country," Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters at the airport here.

CAG had recently said that 66 per cent of children in Gujarat were underweight.

She also questioned that if Modi was not able to protect Gujarat, how was he to protect the country.

Replying to another query, she said fuel leak from some oil firms' pipelines into drinking water supply in north Chennai has already been plugged and efforts being taken to avoid such instances in the future.