Digvijaya slams Modi on 'Jayanthi tax' barb

New Delhi: Congress on Monday termed Narendra Modi's "Jayanthi tax" barb against former Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan as "in very bad taste", saying BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate "only knows to abuse".

"Modi's comment on Jayanthi Natarajan is in a very bad taste. (It) should be condemned. He only knows to abuse but doesn't give his vision," party General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said on Twitter. Modi had yesterday made a reference to the removal of Natarajan from the Environment Ministry, saying for the first time he had heard of "Jayanthi tax", apparently referring to swirling allegations during her tenure.

"There was a storm over the Environment Ministry and all files were blocked. No file was moving without money. We had heard of income, sales and excise taxes but for the first time, we heard about a Jayanthi tax in Delhi without which nothing was moving.

"Till the time that was not paid, files could not be moved in the Environment Ministry. I have never experienced it myself as I never need it but we are shocked on this. What kind of systems have they developed," he had said.

Read more: Former union minister Jayanthi Natarajan targets Narendra Modi

Natarajan denied allegations levelled against her by Modi, saying the BJP leader was trying to target her as she has been very vocal against him in the past and had blocked two of his projects.

"It is a targeted personal attack. I totally deny what he says. It is completely baseless. There are major green violations in Gujarat. He was destroying the environment. I was opposed to his destruction of environment," Natarajan had said on Sunday.

Congress also took potshots at Narendra Modi over his attack on the Aam Aadmi Party and asked whether the emergence of Arvind Kejriwal's party has made the BJP's prime ministerial candidate "nervous".

"Modi's criticism of Congress is understandable, but of late he has started criticising AAP too. Is he really nervous by AAP's emergence?", AICC General Secretary in-charge for Delhi, Shakeel Ahmad said on twitter.

In an apparent dig at AAP, Modi had yesterday asked whether good can happen by constantly being on TV screens or through constructive vision on the ground. "People must decide-- will good happen by constantly being on TV screens or through constructive and development-oriented vision on ground," he had tweeted soon after addressing a rally in Goa.

"There are some who are questioning the BJP's credentials. The Congress' protector is questioning us," Modi had said. Earlier, AAP had questioned BJP's credential.

The war of words between BJP and AAP is growing amid realisation in the opposition party that Kejriwal's entry could harm BJP's interest much more than that of Congress in Lok Sabha polls.