Ambikapur, November 16: On campaign-trail in Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's "chaiwala" jibe against him. Modi said such political attacks from the Congress leadership "stems from the fact" that they can still not come to terms with a tea-seller heading the central government.

The war of words was stoked after Tharoor, while addressing a gathering on India's first PM Jawaharlal Nehru's birth anniversary on November 14, said Nehru had created a democratic framework where "even a chaiwala can become the Prime Minister". Shashi Tharoor Repeats 'Chaiwala' Jibe at Narendra Modi, Remembering Jawaharlal Nehru, Draws BJP Fury.

In a stinging response, Modi said he would salute the democratic system of Nehru the day when the Congress elects a president for five years who is not a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

"I want to challenge them, let some good leader of Congress outside of the family become the party president for 5 years, then I will say that Nehru ji really created a truly democratic system there," Modi said, while addressing a rally in Ambikapur on Friday.

"These people still have not come to terms that I am the PM, it has been nearly four and a half years. They are still crying, how can a 'chaiwala' become PM?. Now they say a 'chaiwala' became PM because of one great person," he added.

Earlier, the BJP had issued a strongly-worded response to Tharoor's remarks, claiming that Nehru became India's PM on "compassionate grounds", whereas, Modi reflects the aspirations of crores of Indian voters.

Apart from Nehru, the BJP in its rebuttal also attacked late former prime minister Indira Gandhi, alleging that she secured the coveted post through a "syndicate". The contentious remarks were made on Thursday by BJP's national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 16, 2018 01:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).