Samajwadi Party ridicules Narendra Modi over '56-inch chest' remarks

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party today ridiculed BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for his "56-inch chest" remarks, claiming that it was he who "had to hide under a cot" for one-and-a-half hours in Chhattisgarh in 2000.

"Everyone in Chhattisgarh is laughing at Modi over his 56-inch chest remarks... He is the same person who, when sent to the state by RSS to oversee BJP's presidential polls in which Lakhiram Agarwal and Brijmohan Agarwal were contesting, had to hide under a cot for over one-and-a-half hours when their supporters clashed," SP spokesman Rajendra Chowdhury said here.

"He (Modi) came out from under the cot only after police arrived at the spot," Chowdhury claimed.

Earlier in the day, Modi at his Gorakhpur rally said, "Netaji (Mulayam), do you know the meaning of converting (UP) to Gujarat? It means 24-hour electricity in every village and street. You can't do it. It requires 56-inch chest," apparently suggesting that it requires decisiveness.