Not vendetta, acting on people's mandate: Modi

Buoyed by the stunning victories in the north-east, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took on the Congress, saying his government's action against corrupt was not "vendetta" but "mandate" given by the people.

Modi's veiled comments on the arrest of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti, who cried "political vendetta", were the first from the Prime Minister on the issue.

Addressing party workers at BJP headquarters after an impressive victory in Tripura and Nagaland, he said without referring to Karti's comments, "This is not vendetta. This is mandate of the country (to act against the corrupt)."

Modi, who stopped his speech midway after hearing 'aazaan' from a nearby mosque, did not spare the Congress, saying the Grand Old Party had not been reduced to such ignominy so far. He warned political parties, including the BJP, to ensure that "Congress culture should not seep into" their parties.

"Congress was never as diminished as it is now...There are leaders whose designation rises while their stature shrinks," he said in apparent reference to Rahul Gandhi's elevation as party chief.

Modi was happy with BJP's performance and acknowledged its growth saying, "When sun sets, it is red and when it rises, it is saffron," alluding to the decimation of CPI(M) in Tripura.

The focus of the Prime Minister's speech, as well as that of BJP chief Amit Shah, was also on the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections and the party usurping power in Kerala, West Bengal and Odisha. He repeatedly referred to violence against party workers in these states.

"Opponents cannot counter us because they cannot take us on democratically. That is why they fatally target our workers. Their sacrifices will not go waste," he said.

Left not right

Shah summarised the results from the three north-east states as a booster for its cadres in Karnataka. However, he was quick to add that he would call it a "golden period" for BJP only after its victories in Odisha, West Bengal and Kerala. "We will definetely win Karnataka," he added.

Shah, who like Modi arrived in BJP headquarters to sloganeering by jubilant crowds, said his party's performance in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland was an endorsement of the policies formulated by the Modi regime for the region. "Tripura victory is historic. It shows Left is not right in anyway and they have been discarded by people, first in Bengal and now in Tripura," he added.