We Are Not Unlike, Said Chief Minister to PM. Then Booing Began.

Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's experience of sharing top billing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not pleasant. The large audience booed Mr Soren and drowned out his speech with cheers for the PM, who gestured to them to show restraint.

Mr Soren, irked, said this evening that federalism had been undermined - an argument also made by his coalition partner, the Congress, whose chief ministers have been heckled over the last few days in co-appearances with the PM. (Cheers for PM Narendra Modi, Jeers for Three Chief Ministers)

But before things soured in Ranchi, where Mr Soren accompanied the PM who inaugurated a mega power project, the Chief Minister tried to highlight parallels in their backgrounds. (Also Read: Jharkhand Has the Potential to Overtake Gujarat, Says PM)

Congratulating Mr Modi for his outsized victory in the national election, Mr Soren said, "You sold tea when you were young... my mother washed utensils to earn a living."

Unimpressed sections of the audience kept up the booing, forcing Mr Soren to complete his remarks in haste. Jharkhand will vote soon for its next government.

In his campaign for the national election, Mr Modi reminded voters at rally after rally that he sold tea at train stations, and that his mother worked in neighbouring homes to help support her family. He said he understood the concerns and needs of the poor. In his speech on Independence Day, he said, "It is a tribute to Indian democracy that a person from a poor family, an ordinary family, is today addressing the nation from the Red Fort." (Also Read: PM Modi's Top 10 Quotes in His Independence Day Speech)

Mr Soren's mother, Rupi, has served as member of the Rajya Sabha. His father, Shibu Soren, is a regional powerhouse and leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.