New Delhi, May 2 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel Friday denied "any closeness" to Narendra Modi and said he would leave public life if it could be proved that he had visited the Gujarat chief minister's house or office.
Patel was reacting to revelations that BJP's prime ministerial candidate Modi, in an edited out portion of his interview to state-run Doordarshan, had referred to Patel as a "good friend who's stopped taking calls".
With TV channels telecasting the edited out portion of Modi, Patel told reporters: "I totally deny any closeness to a man who is set to divide India."
"I will leave public life if Modi can prove I have gone to his house or office since he became chief minister (of Gujarat). How can a man who doesn't have friends in his own party claim friendship with me," Patel added.
Patel said he had never visited Modi's house or office or asked him for any favour.
Modi in the edited out portion of the interview had referred to Patel as a "good friend".
"Ahmedbhai is among the best friends I have in Congress but not now... I had a good friendship with him and would have preferred that it had remained so... but he now runs away from me and doesn't take my calls," Modi said in the interview.
Modi said they had even dined at each other's house.
Modi's office later released the unedited version of the interview.
Windies touch down in Canberra for Zimbabwe assignment
Canberra, Feb 23 (IANS) A buoyant West Indies arrived here to begin final preparations for their third game of the cricket World Cup against Zimbabwe Tuesday.The squad took the three-hour flight
Rahul Gandhi's target on the government: Count the current crisis in the country, termed eight years of Modi rule as 'misrule'
Even though the central government is talking about rapid improvement in the country's economy, the opposition is not believing its claims. Inflation is skyrocketing in the country and the
'Where was it said that we will mix it in the soil' BJP gadgad from the encounter of Usman who was involved in Umesh Pal murder case
Another shooter involved in the Umesh Pal murder case was killed by the police in an encounter on Monday morning. It is being told that his name was Vijay alias Usman. It was he who fired the first
Arjun Tendulkar-Saaniya Wedding Date: Sania will become Arjun's bride... when will Sachin's beloved son ride the horse?
Happiness has arrived at the doorstep of Sachin Tendulkar, known as the God of Cricket. After getting engaged in a private ceremony in August 2025, Sachin's son Arjun Tendulkar is now set to tie the
117 die of swine flu in Madhya Pradesh
Bhopal, Feb 25 (IANS) As many as 117 people have died of swine flu in Madhya Pradesh, authorities said.One person has died of swine flu since Tuesday and 181 people are still being treated for it,
UP Budget: Airport in Ayodhya, metro received money in Kanpur, know what your area got including Purvanchal, Bundelkhand
Lucknow: The Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh presented a budget of 5 lakh 50 thousand 270 crore 78 lakh in the Legislature today. In this budget presented among the enthusiasts of the Panchayat
Corona in the country: 1.33 lakh cases were reported last day, 2.31 lakh were cured and 3,204 died; More people recovered than newly infected in 33 states and UTs
In the last 24 hours, the corona report of 1 lakh 33 thousand 48 people have come positive in the country. During this, 3,204 people also died due to infection. It was a matter of relief that 2 lakh
PM Modi: PM Modi spoke to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia; Discussions were held on these issues including bilateral cooperation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During the telephone conversation, the leaders reviewed a range of issues of bilateral cooperation. During
Ranbir Kapoor: Ranbir Kapoor has not been summoned as an accused, know why ED sent the summons
Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor is constantly in the headlines these days. Recently news came out that the actor has been called for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Mahadev betting
HC notice to Kejriwal on Walia's plea questioning candidature
New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Monday issued notice to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on a plea filed by Congress leader Kiran Walia, questioning the legality of his candidature from the