File photo: Jairam Ramesh
Bangalore:
Union minister Jairam Ramesh today asserted his position as one of his party's big hitters against Narendra Modi, the BJP's candidate for prime minister.
Without naming Mr Modi, the minister denounced his ambitions for the country's top job. "I think ultimately this great obsession to have yourself declared as the prime ministerial candidate comes from a deep -rooted insecurity complex," said Mr Ramesh, who is the Rural Development Minister,
Though the Congress has said that vice president Rahul Gandhi is the face of its national campaign, it has not declared him its presumptive prime minister yet -partly because the 43-year-old has so far not indicated whether he's willing to accept the nomination.
"We do not see the need to project a prime ministerial candidate. I don't think our leader has such an insecurity complex that we have to project him as the PM candidate," said Mr Ramesh.
His sparring with Mr Modi has peaked in recent months, though the BJP leader has written to him this week, inviting him to a public function in Gujarat later this month. (Read: Modi's letter of invitation to his detractor)
A few weeks ago, Mr Ramesh deried Mr Modi for what he described as delayed "enlightenment" after the BJP leader said that he believes it's more important to build toilets than temples, a response to criticism that he is a Hindu nationalist who misrepresents development as a big piece of his agenda.
Mr Ramesh had been attacked by the BJP when he made a similar statement on sanitation last year.
"I wish he had got this enlightenment 22 years ago. India would have been spared the Babri Masjid tragedy," Mr Ramesh had said, referring to the demolition of the 16th-century mosque in 1992 by thousands of right-wing hardliners including BJP party workers and supporters who say a temple for Lord Ram must be built at the site of the mosque in Ayodhya. That movement led to searing communal riots.
Without naming Mr Modi, the minister denounced his ambitions for the country's top job. "I think ultimately this great obsession to have yourself declared as the prime ministerial candidate comes from a deep -rooted insecurity complex," said Mr Ramesh, who is the Rural Development Minister,
Though the Congress has said that vice president Rahul Gandhi is the face of its national campaign, it has not declared him its presumptive prime minister yet -partly because the 43-year-old has so far not indicated whether he's willing to accept the nomination.
"We do not see the need to project a prime ministerial candidate. I don't think our leader has such an insecurity complex that we have to project him as the PM candidate," said Mr Ramesh.
His sparring with Mr Modi has peaked in recent months, though the BJP leader has written to him this week, inviting him to a public function in Gujarat later this month. (Read: Modi's letter of invitation to his detractor)
A few weeks ago, Mr Ramesh deried Mr Modi for what he described as delayed "enlightenment" after the BJP leader said that he believes it's more important to build toilets than temples, a response to criticism that he is a Hindu nationalist who misrepresents development as a big piece of his agenda.
Mr Ramesh had been attacked by the BJP when he made a similar statement on sanitation last year.
"I wish he had got this enlightenment 22 years ago. India would have been spared the Babri Masjid tragedy," Mr Ramesh had said, referring to the demolition of the 16th-century mosque in 1992 by thousands of right-wing hardliners including BJP party workers and supporters who say a temple for Lord Ram must be built at the site of the mosque in Ayodhya. That movement led to searing communal riots.
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