Modi is 'Pradhan Prachar Mantri': Priyanka Gandhi

Banda (UP): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Wednesday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "Pradhan Prachar Mantri" and accused the BJP of "wasting drinking water" to clean roads in Banda, an arid town in Uttar Pradesh's Budelkhand region.

Priyanka Gandhi's comments drew a sharp reaction from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who said her statements show that the fear of defeat has gripped the Congress.

The Congress's attack on Modi and the BJP came a day ahead of the prime minister's visit here.

Water from tankers were being used to clean roads to "welcome our Pradhan Prachar Mantri (chief publicity minister)", she claimed.

This is happening at a time when "the entire Bundelkhand, the men and women living there, school going children, crops, birds and animals are facing the spectre of drought," the Congress general secretary said.

In a tweet, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Is he a 'chowkidar' (watchman) or a 'shahnshah' (emperor) coming from Delhi."

The prime minister is schedule to address an election rally here on Thursday.

Rebutting allegations, Adityanath said, "The fear of defeat has gripped the Congress so much that it can be proved from the fact that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has termed an 11 seconds of washing of keechad (mud), as the washing of an entire road."

In a tweet, he said, "The Congress is a factory of lies. Even after tendering an apology in the Supreme Court, these Congressmen are not mending their ways.'

His reference was to Congress president Rahul Gandhi expressing regret in the Supreme Court on Monday over his remark "chowkidar (watchman) Narendra Modi chor hain" in connection with the Rafale judgment.