BANASKANTHA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday revived a familiar political jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying farmers in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district were already turning potatoes into gold through their hard work.Addressing a gathering at Bhildi, Modi praised the region’s agricultural growth, attributing it to the availability of Narmada water and the adoption of modern irrigation techniques such as drip irrigation.“Banaskantha’s potatoes are now famous across the world. Nobody needs to come here and say they will make gold out of potatoes. The people here can say that they are already doing it,” he said.The remark appeared to be a reference to Gandhi’s “potato in, gold out” comment during a speech in Gujarat’s Patan district on November 12, 2017. The phrase has since featured in the BJP’s political attacks on the Congress leader.The BJP also took a swipe at the Congress over the remark in a post on X.“We had barely recovered from the shock of the ballot paper fiasco when PM Modi reopened the old wounds in Banaskantha with that potato-to-gold stunt!” the party said.Modi is on a two-day visit to Gujarat during which he will inaugurate and launch several projects covering infrastructure, dairy development, bovine research and child welfare.(With agency inputs)
