Narendra Modi is India's '2nd Mahatma Gandhi': Sports Minister Vijay Goel

Raipur: Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Saturday attracted controversy when he described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as India's ‘second Mahatma Gandhi’.

Speaking at a M.O.D.I. (Making of Developed India) function in Raipur, Goel said, "Even President Pranab Mukherjee is so impressed that he has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comparison could be done with former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, but I would go a step further and say that Modi Ji is the second Mahatma Gandhi of India."

He also said that when the people of this country were fed up with corruption, scams of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government , they called on the 'saint from Gujarat' (Modi) to lead the nation.

Without naming former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Goel said, "Before the Modi government was mandated to rule India, the country was inflicted with corruption, price rise, scams and chaos and there was a prime minister who couldn't take decisions, and decisions were being taken by someone else."

He further added, "The people then called on the saint from Gujarat (read Narendra Modi) to lead the nation. Now, after three years, the way Modi has taken India to new heights, no other prime minister has done so after India's independence in 1947".

This was the third time that Goel had made this statement. He had earlier said this in January 2017 and in October 2015.

Goel also praised Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh for taking steps to combat naxalism, corruption, malnutrition, and unemployment in his state.