I am Rajiv Gandhi’s daughter and no one can take his place, Priyanka retorts to Modi's 'daughter' claims

Mumbai: 'I am Rajiv Gandhi's daughter,' was Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's curt reply Thursday to a media report that suggested BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had apparently said in an interview that Priyanka was like a daughter to him.

The report said Modi's statement in this interview to Doordarshan was finally edited out of the actual telecast.  Priyanka categorically said Thursday, “I am Rajiv Gandhi's daughter.”

Priyanka, who is on a campaign trail in Amethi, reacted sharply when she was asked by reporters to comment on purported remarks by the BJP prime ministerial candidate that she was like a daughter to him. Priyanka's brother Rahul is the Congress candidate from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

"Main Rajiv Gandhi ki beti hoon. Woh desh ke liye shaheed huein hai aur merey dil mein unki jagah aur koi nahin le sakta,' (I am Rajiv Gandhi's daughter. He has been martyred for the country and in my heart, no one can take his place)," she said.  Priyanka was in her SUV and halted briefly to shake hands with some supporters.

Initially she did not answer the question but later came out of the SUV and with a stern face and replied to the query and left without answering any other question.

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, “I am happy Modi considers Priyanka Gandhi as his daughter; not sure if she will be happy to consider Modi as a father figure.”

'The Times of India' has claimed that DD edited out the portion where Modi described Priyanka ‘like his daughter’ and also broadcasted it in a low-profile manner without any pre-telecast promotion. Chidambaram denied any government role in the 'editing' controversy, saying, "Doordarshan is free to take what it wants."

The daily reported a source saying, “As a measure of abundant caution it was decided to edit out the part where Modi refused to attack Priyanka Gandhi in response to a question, saying she was like his daughter and not a political rival like her mother Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Modi even said that in Indian culture daughters were not targetted.”

Reportedly, Modi also said during the interview, recorded on the morning of April 26, that he had been "blacked out" by the DD Kendra in Gujarat.

Priyanka, who is campaigning for her mother and brother in Amethi and Rae Bareli, has recently stepped up attack on Narendra Modi. In one, she has berated Narendra Modi's frequent chest-thumping over his achievements, stating acerbically that India needed a ruler with a generous heart and not one with a 56-inch chest.