MASDAR/NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today once again attacked previous governments from foreign soil, evoking a sharp reaction from Congress which termed his "pathetic lowbrow jibes" as "abominable".
Modi, while addressing business leaders of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Masdar City of the Gulf country, said his government has got some problems in legacy and his immediate priority would be to kickstart the things which were stalled by the "indecisiveness and lethargy" of the past governments.
"I have got some problems in legacy. I cannot take only the good points and leave aside the problems... Some things were stalled due to the indecisiveness and lethargy of the governments (in the last)... It is my priority to kickstart those things," he said.
Reacting to this, Congress spokesman Sanjay Jha tweeted, "It is abominable that PM Modi continues his pathetic lowbrow jibes at opposition party when abroad. A huge embarrassment." Modi had earlier attacked Congress and its previous governments during his trips to China and Canada, for which he was slammed by the opposition party.
Another Congress spokesman Meem Afzal said it was not proper for Modi to rake up domestic politics abroad despite repeated uproar by the opposition for his earlier such actions.
"The Prime Minister should have maintained dignity of the high office he holds. There is no problem if he targets previous governments when he is in the country. But he should have refrained from doing so on foreign soil," he said.
Afzal reminded the PM that the vast growth in the trade turnover with UAE from 160 million dollars to 60 billion dollars was mainly due to the efforts by the earlier governments, including those of the UPA.
"India receives 10 billion dollars remittances annually from 26 lakh NRIs in the UAE which invests 15 billion dollars in the Gulf country", he said.