Hardik hits out at Modi, says only chaiwala' can advise youth to sell pakodas'

Ahmedabad: Patidar community leader Hardik Patel on Tuesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his recent remark about whether a person earning Rs 200 a day selling "pakodas" can be considered unemployed, saying only a "chaiwala" can advise youth without a job to sell the snack.

Modi has often been targeted over his humble "tea seller" background, which he invariably used as a stick to beat his rivals with.

"Berozgar yuvao ko pakode ka thela lagane ka sujav ek chaiwala hi de sakta hai. Arthshastri aise sujav nahi deta!!!," (Only a tea seller can suggest to unemployed youth to sell snacks, an economist would not do that)," Patel said in a tweet on Tuesday.

The Patel quota demand spearhead was apparently comparing Modi to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, an eminent economist.

Patel had backed the Congress in recent Gujarat Assembly elections.

His tweet came after Modi, in a recent interview to a television channel, reportedly said, "If a person selling pakodas (snacks) earns Rs 200 at the end of the day, will it be considered employment or not?"

In the run up to Gujarat elections, the Congress's youth wing mouthpiece, 'Yuva Desh', had tweeted a meme on Modi’s “tea seller” background.

It showed Modi, US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Theresa May in one frame. Modi was shown mispronouncing the word 'meme' as 'main main', prompting Trump to correct him. May was shown telling Modi, "You go, sell tea."

Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had, in the run up to the 2014 parliament elections, spoken about Modi's 'chaiwala' background. The Prime Minister had used it to turn the tables on the Congress, accusing it of disdain for the poor.