Jammu:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today criticized dynastic politics and made a remark on political sons-in-law that was seen as a dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra.
PM Modi was speaking in Jammu, on the centenary of former state minister Girdhari Lal Dogra, a Congress politician whose son-in law is Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
"Mr Dogra was a good judge of character. The example is the sons in law he chose," the prime minister said, drawing applause and laughs from his audience at the General Zorawar Singh Auditorium of the Jammu University.
"In this case, the son-in-law is not known for his father-in-law and the father-in-law is not known for his son-in-law. There are some sons in law who do not bask in their in-laws' glory. Both took their own routes in public life. But today, we all know how political damads (sons in law) can be," he quipped.
The comment appeared to be targeted at Mr Vadra, whose controversial land deals have repeatedly been held up by the BJP as the prime example of corruption during the previous Congress-led rule.
Criticising dynastic politics, PM Modi laboured the point that Mr Dogra kept his family away from his political life and granted any favours to his family members, including Arun Jaitley.
"Not a single person of his family is seen in his photographs. It is a big thing that in such a long political career, with such close association with the powerful, he had not a single family member in his photographs. His family can be seen in only one photograph, that of his funeral. It is a message for politics today," he said.
PM Modi also disapproved of "political untouchability" and said it was important to ensure that the country's legacy was not divided.
His remarks came after Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad described Mr Dogra as a "24 carat Congressman who never compromised with regionalism, casteism and communalism."
The prime minister said: "We should have equal regard for anybody who has worked and died for the nation, irrespective of their political ideologies and affiliations."