Learn from your seniors: Congress tells Modi

New Delhi, Apr 16: Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks in Canada about previous governments in India leaving a "mess" behind, Congress said these were in "poor taste" and asked him to learn how to conduct himself from his seniors like Lal Krishna Advani.

"The prime minister's statement on foreign soil, both in Germany and Canada, has been in poor taste. It is clear that (Modi) carries a hangover of the 2014 election campaign," Congress said.

"He is talking on foreign soil to malign his predecessors and the present opposition. No prime minister of India in its history has ever done so," said Congress spokesman Anand Sharma. [PM Narendra Modi vows to 'clean up mess' in India]

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said on Twitter,"when a Head of State visits abroad he represents the whole Nation. Modi's speech is divisive, defamatory, malicious and not based on facts".

Party spokesperson Sanjay Jha said that Modi was making India a laughing stock through his "pathetic diatribes" against political opponents.

"PM Modi through his pathetic diatribes against political opponents abroad is making India into a laughing stock. Doing an IPO, Sir???" Jha said on the micro-blogging website.

AICC Communication Department in-charge Randip Surjewala said,"Unfortunately the BJP as well as the Prime Minister of this country have become habitual offenders in upholding the principle tenets of propreity in public life."

He said that earlier it was considered a "sacrilege" when even a minister visiting a foreign country blames previous governments for anything.

"Modi needs to re-educate himself and learn from his seniors like L K Advani and others if he has not understood international diplomacy and how to uphold the respect of his own country...If not from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of UPA, he should at least learn from the conduct of Vajpayee on how to exercise some restraint," Surjewala said.

Charging that Modi had painted a picture which suggested that the country was known only for corruption and scams before he came to office, Sharma said the prime minister had "lowered the dignity" of his office.

Contending that development was the only answer to India's problems, Modi today said in Toronto that he would clean up the "mess" created by others and change the country's image from one where it is identified with "scams" to that of a "skilled" nation.

Taking an apparent dig at the previous governments, Modi said, "Jinko gandagi karni thi, woh gandagi kar ke chaley gaye, par hum safai karenge (Those who had to create a mess, they have done so and left. We will clean it up)."

PTI