File photo of Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi's allegedly debatable grasp of history has become the new trigger for political sparring between the Congress and the BJP.
"Mr Modi thinks he is making history but every day he is making up history. He is coming up with new facts which completely go against the grain of historical truth and scholarship," union minister Jairam Ramesh told NDTV, referring to recent gaffes by the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.
On Sunday, Mr Modi apparently mixed up Gujarati freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Verma with Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of BJP's predecessor Jan Sangh, and said he had died abroad, unsung and ignored by all Congress governments.
Within moments, the mistake was pointed out and Mr Modi apologised.
Mr Ramesh scoffed, "It is akin to my saying, Oh! Nehru was selling paint before he got into politics and confusing Jawaharlal Nehru with Arun Nehru."
The BJP hit out at the Congress for "making an issue out of nothing". "These are slips of the tongue. It can happen to anybody. If they want to make a serious issue out of it, it is foolishness," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.
The Gujarat Chief Minister, who prides himself on his development mantra, had said at another event that China spent 20% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education, but the figure is 3%.
In his Patna rally that was targeted by serial blasts, Mr Modi said the ancient city of Taxila north-west of Islamabad was in Bihar. He also said Alexander came to Bihar and died by the Ganges.
Mr Modi was also criticized after a newspaper interview quoted him as saying that Jawaharlal Nehru did not attend the funeral of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. The publication later clarified that Mr Modi had given no official interview.
A section within the BJP is concerned that the embarrassing slips are giving fodder to Mr Modi's critics, who have disparagingly called him 'feku' (braggart).
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, one of his biggest critics, said: "I am surprised that BJP didn't find anyone with any knowledge of history to be their PM candidate. If he becomes PM and talks the same way in UN too, what will happen to our respect?" He advised him to take history lessons from party seniors.