Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he wants to "congratulate" him on winning the "world famous" Philip Kotler Presidential award, evoking a sharp reaction from BJP leader Smriti Irani who accused the Gandhi family of conferring Bharat Ratna "on themselves".
Gandhi's jibe comes a day after Modi received the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential award.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, the award focuses on the triple bottom-line of 'people, profit and planet' and will be offered annually to the leader of a nation.
According to the award citation, Modi was selected for his "outstanding leadership for the nation".
"I want to congratulate our PM on winning the world famous 'Kotler Presidential Award'!" Gandhi said on Twitter.
"In fact it's so famous it has no jury, has never been given out before & is backed by an unheard of Aligarh company," Gandhi added.
In a sharp retort, Union minister Irani, while tagging Rahul Gandhi's tweet, suggested that unlike Prime Minister Modi, who was awarded by someone else, Gandhi family members had conferred themselves the country's top civilian honour --Bharat Ratna.
"Rich !!! Coming from a person whose illustrious family decided to confer the ‘Bharat Ratna' on themselves," she tweeted, mocking Rahul Gandhi's remark.
