'The rich have chowkidar, farmers don't'

PRAYAGRAJ: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on the first day of a boat ride on the river Ganga that will take her to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi, had a sharp comeback for his "Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign. "Chowkidars are for the rich, not farmers," said she said, taking a dig at the campaign that had most BJP leaders adopting the prefix "Chowkidar" or watchman on Twitter.

During the three-day boat campaign, the Congress leader will travel from Prayagraj to Varanasi while making stops at various places in between. "On Sunday I met with a group of farmers... The potato farmers of western UP. One of the farmers told me, chowkidars are for the rich. We farmers are our own chowkidars," Priyanka Gandhi remarked.

PM Modi was the first to add "Chowkidar" to his name on his Twitter handle to mark the BJP's "Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign pitching the ruling party as the country's main force fighting against corruption. Soon, BJP leaders including president Amit Shah and several union ministers had followed.