Modi's jibe result of 'frustration', says Bhagwant Mann

New Delhi: AAP leader Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking a dig at him, saying the latter has "lowered" the dignity of Parliament and the post he was holding.

Mann attributed Modi's jibe at him to the Prime Minister's "frustration", which he said has roots in the BJP's "impending drubbing" in Punjab assembly polls held on February 4.

"The dignity of the Prime Minister's post and Parliament has been lowered today. He repeatedly named a private company, he spoke out of frustration. He made personal remarks against me," a sulking Mann said on a video posted on Twitter handle of AAP's Punjab unit.

Replying to a debate in Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, the Prime Minister referred to an ancient philosophy which he said suggested people to drink ghee and quipped, "Drinking ghee was the tradition that time, if Bhagwant Mann had been there he might have suggested 'something else' to drink."

A livid Mann said, "He (Modi) used to speak about Rahul Gandhi earlier. But now he has shifted (to me) because he is aware that BJP is losing in Punjab. Losing Punjab means Gateway of India."

Mann alleged that the Prime Minister was "not even alert to the situation" when he made the "ghee remark" in Lok Sabha and spoke as if he was addressing "some poll rally" in Uttar Pradesh.

He added that after clinching power in Punjab, the AAP will spread its wings to Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and "across entire India."