Pune, Apr 30 (PTI) NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for dubbing Rahul Gandhi a 'shehzada' (prince) and said three generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family had sacrificed themselves for the country.

Addressing an election meeting in Junnar for his party candidate, Pawar said Rahul Gandhi should rather be praised for hitting the ground to understand the plight of the common people braving weather conditions.

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The prime minister should know that three generations of Rahul Gandhi whom he called a shehzada had served this country and sacrificed their lives, he said.

"Jawaharlal Nehru was jailed for 13 years before Independence. Later, he worked towards taking the country forward in all fields and ensured a rule of democracy. Rahul Gandhi's grandmother, Indira Gandhi, worked tirelessly to eradicate poverty. She was assassinated.

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Later Rahul's father Rajiv Gandhi adopted modernisation and worked for it. He was killed in a bomb blast," said Pawar.

He added that the three generations of Rahul Gandhi made a big sacrifice for the country but PM Modi dubs Rahul a 'shehzada'.

"To understand the hardship of people, this 'shehzada' took out a journey on foot (Bharat Jodo Yatra) from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, braving weather conditions. Instead of appreciating him, he is mocked as shehzada by the country's prime minister," Pawar added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)