Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Sangli, Maharashtra, on Sunday. (Press Trust of India)
At his rally in Kolhapur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not but refer to the famous Kolhapuri chappals.
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Aaj pure desh ko Kolhapuri ki chappal ki zaroorat hai, taaki pura desh tez gati se chale, (the nation needs Kolhapuri chappals, so that it can move ahead fast)," the Prime Minister said as the crowd roared in approval.
"I think small and I think for the small people," the Prime Minister said. But he also said he wished to do "big things for the common man... If Kolhapur grows Maharashtra will grow and if Maharashtra grows, India will grow. "
The Prime Minister also referred to Congress allegations of his appropriating the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. "I have read in newspapers that the Congress says I've taken away Gandhiji from them. I wouldn't dare to snatch away Gandhiji from anyone. It is they who have deserted Gandhiji (the Mahatma's principles)," he said. (Also Read:
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On October 2, PM Modi had launched the ambitious new countrywide campaign for a cleaner India.
"Gandhi gave us the slogan, 'Quit India' and people came together to win our country's freedom (from British colonial rule)... but his other dream - 'Clean India' - is still incomplete," the PM said in an address from Delhi's India Gate. "A clean India is the best tribute we can pay to Bapu on his 150th birth anniversary in 2019."
The Congress had hit back, saying the BJP was merely paying lip service to the Mahatma.