Narendra Modi’s interview with Doordarshan has left Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel fuming with anger over his fellow Gujarati’s claim that they were ‘good friends’ in the past.

Patel’s discomfort in being seen as having any link with Modi, even in the past, is understandable given his status as one of the closest confidants of 10 Janpath.

Narendra Modi is the ‘Maut Ka Saudagar’, any association with him, leave alone friendship is something which Patel would like to keep at pole length, even from his shadow.

However, Patel did agree that he had lunch with Modi once in 1980 (in the know of Rajiv Gandhi) but has not had even a cup of tea with Modi since he became chief minister in 2001.

“After he became CM then maybe we talked on the phone during festivals back then. But not after that,” he said.

“I was laughing when I heard Modi ji’s statement where he said I am his friend. Modi ji has no friends in his own party, then how can I be his friend?,” he added.

Later Patel said that he will leave public life if Modi can prove that he had gone to his office or home after the latter took over as Chief Minister.

“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 had said in the interview with Doordarshan.

Modi’s comments on his relationship with Patel were edited out when the interview was telecast on Sunday, however, Modi’s office later released the unedited version of the interview, much to the discomfort of Patel.

Playing on the Advani-Modi friction to target Modi, Patel said, “If he can’t even invite Advaniji for a meal, how can he invite me?” adding, “I have never asked him for any professional or personal favour.”

However, the moot question remains: Is there a need for Patel to get jittery about his past equation with Narendra Modi.

In a veiled attack on Narendra Modi, Priyanka Gandhi on Friday said there is a leader in the country who wants power for himself and makes repeated demands to strengthen him.

Campaigning for her mother Sonia Gandhi, she also alleged that books with baseless material written about her family were being dumped a night before at places where her public meetings were scheduled.

Holding that the level of election campaign in the country has stooped down to a very low level, she said, “Politics is seen with a sense of service, but few leaders in the country do not think about that.”

However, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s politics was not that to demand, but that of a sense of service, she said.

“He wants to give you strength. He also wants to give you power. There is a leader in the country, who wants power for himself. He keeps on demanding to strengthen him…,” she said, targeting Modi.

“My father had a visionary political thinking and Rahul has learned from him. The parameter and strategy of Amethi’s development was prepared by Rajiv Gandhi 35 years ago, this is the reason barren land is not visible here,” she said.

Priyanka said that books containing false accusations against her family have been found at places where her public meetings have been scheduled.

“I have come to know that at places where my public meetings are scheduled some books are thrown a night before in which dirty and false things are written about my family. Those indulging in such activities are cowards,” she said at Shahgarh Shaheed Chowk in Gauriganj Assembly area.

“If they have to say something, they should come in front of me and talk. Indulging in such activities at midnight is not justified,” she said. Blaming Opposition for the absence of proper power supply here, Priyanka said her “hands are tied” because of a court case in the matter.

Addressing an election meeting attended mostly by women, she said the party has made many efforts to provide 24 hours power supply but despite that it could not do so.

Sparking verbal duel with Samajwadi Party, BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain on Friday asked if SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is a Pope for Muslims.

Replying to Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi’s shocker that Muslims who do not vote for his party are not “true Mulsims”, Hussain asked: “Will Mulayam take them (Muslims) to jannat (heaven)?”

On Thursday, while addressing an election rally in support of SP candidate Bhalchandra Yadav at Khalilabad, Azmi had said: “A Muslim, who does not vote for SP and talks against it is not a Muslim. His DNA test should be conducted. See whether he is from RSS.”

“I want to say that he cannot be a true person. What SP supremo Mulayam Singh has not done for them (Muslim community),” Azmi, who is the Maharashtra unit chief of SP, had asked.

This is not the first time Azmi got himself embroiled in a controversy. Last month, the SP leader was in news when he said victims in rape cases should also be punished.

Speaking to a leading Mumbai tabloid, Azmi had said, “Rape is punishable by hanging in Islam. But here, nothing happens to women, only to men. Even the woman is guilty.”

Launching a blistering attack on Rahul Gandhi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that the entire country would thank the people of Amethi if they vote the Gandhi scion family out of power.

While campaigning for his party colleague Kumar Vishwas, the AAP chief said that the country needs to be freed from dynasty rule.

Taking on both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, Kejriwal said that both the national parties have only one agenda — to target the AAP.

The activist-turned politician alleged that both BJP and the Congress are hand-in-gloves, proof being that only the AAP was being attacked in Varanasi by both the parties.

“Have you ever seen the BJP attacking Rahul Gandhi or the Congress attacking Narendra Modi and Smriti Irani?” Kejriwal asked the gathering.

Further raising his rhetoric against both the ruling and opposition parties, Kejriwal said, “The BJP should not have fielded Smriti Irani from Amethi. It has only done so to cut votes and make Rahul win.”

On Wednesday night, just before boarding the Bangalore-Guwahati Express, Swathi Parachuri called her family and asked them to prepare her favourite food; she would see them the next afternoon after four months.

Hours later, Swathi, 24, was dead. One of the two bombs that went off in the train on Thursday morning was planted under her seat. She was killed instantly.

Last year, she had joined as assistant systems engineer at the prestigious Tata Consultancy Services and in about two months, she was to marry a close friend. On this trip home, she wanted to buy gifts for her family with her first earnings.

Swathi’s friends say she bought a “Tatkal” or last-minute ticket to board the train, which would take her to Vijayawada. There, she would have taken a bus to her hometown Guntur.

Her body was taken to Guntur late last night.

Swathi’s father Rama Rao and mother Kamakshi came to Chennai to take her body. Her younger brother is studying at the IIT-Mumbai.

Reports quoted Swathi’s friends as saying she was not meant to be on this train.

She was believed to have tried to buy a ticket for a direct train from Bangalore to Guntur, but changed her plan.

Swathi had studied electronics and computer science. Her friends said she was “very excited” about her job and her first salary on May 8.

She was described by co-workers as a soft-spoken, friendly person who was passionate about photography.

“Hold on, Pain Ends,” said her last Facebook post, describing ‘hope’ as she was about to get married.