Narendra Modi pays tributes to Rajiv Gandhi at Veer Bhumi

NEW DELHI: Putting the acrimony of campaign behind, Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi today paid tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi whom he had attacked during electioneering, inviting " neech rajniti" (low-level politics) barb from his daughter Priyanka Gandhi.

"My homage to former PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary," Modi tweeted as President Pranab Mukherjee, outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Gandhi family members among others offered flowers at his memorial ' Veer Bhumi' here.

Modi's homage comes after an acrimonious poll campaign during which he and the Gandhi family indulged in bitter war of words, at times over his relentless attack on Rajiv.

It escalated to its worst on May 5 when Modi during a rally in Amethi accused Rajiv of "arrogance" and practicing the "politics of anger", jibes often used against him by Sonia and Rahul. He said when Rajiv was Congress General Secretary, he had once publicly "abused" and "humiliated" the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister T Anjaiah at airport. Anjaiah was the chief minister between 1980 and 1982.

An angry Priyanka accused Modi of "insulting" her father. "They have insulted my martyred father on the soil of Amethi. People of Amethi will never forgive them for this act. Workers in Amethi will reply to their low-level (neech) politics. There will be reply from each of the booths," she had said in a statement. The used of term "neech" had prompted sharp reactions from Modi and BJP.