Thank god Rahul Gandhi spoke and prevented earthquake: Modi

"From the time he started speaking and learnt to speak my happiness has no limits. No one know till then what was there inside the packet [Gandhi]," he said taking a potshot at Rahul.

"I am happy that he is learning to give speeches now. He is a youth leader of Congress," said Modi aping a few gestures of Gandhi.

"Now people know what he is. If he had not spoken then a big earthquake would have happened and we would have to deal with it," said Modi mocking Gandhi's earlier statement that if he had spoken there will be a quake.

Modi said how could Rahul Gandhi call 60 percent of Indians as illiterate.

"It's good that when black money is being unearthed, some people are also opening up their dark mind," Modi said in a scornful innuendo in his inimitable style.

He then accused  the opposition political leaders, who are hostile to his demonetisation drive, of standing for the corrupt.

"When I was planning the policy, I didn’t anticipate one thing. I never thought that the country’s politicians and certain parties will stand with the guilty and on the wrong side,"  he said while addressing a rally at the Benaras Hindu University.

While Rahul Gandhi, in Mehsana, had levelled the  sensational allegation of  Modi's personal corruption, the Prime Minister's intent was obviously  to move the people's court by painting those baying for his blood as ones acting against the nation's interest.

He asked the opposition leaders to keep faith in the people.

"I want to tell the country’s politicians to have faith in the country’s people who have withstood the inconvenience."

Modi claimed that 125 crore Indians have supported the note ban, which has already yielded results with black money being unearthed, corruption being put on leash and Maoists, bereft of funds that they had with the stash of old high-denomination notes, starting to surrender.

Hitting back at Manmohan Singh, one of the most vocal critics of  the way demonetisation has been implemented, Modi said it was his predecessor who had left the legacy of poverty.

"When I spoke about cashless economy, Manmohan Singh said ‘how can a country full of poor talk about technology.’ Was he (Manmohan Singh) giving his report card, or mine? Who’s legacy is this poverty?" he asked.