Narendra Modi during his rally in Vandalur

Narendra Modi today slammed Finance Minister P Chidambaram, saying under his leadership the country's growth has plunged to new lows.Calling Mr Chidambaram a "Recount Minister" in a dig at the Congress leader's victory in the 2009 elections on recount, the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate said that under him and noted economist Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India has registered high unemployment, fiscal debt and low growth."Going to Harvard means nothing. What matters is hard work.... A man who has just studied in an ordinary school, sold tea and has not even seen the doors of Harvard has shown what it takes to handle economy," Mr Modi said at a huge public rally at Vandalur near Chennai.Soon after the BJP leader's speech, Mr Chidambaram hit back, saying, "The country needs hard-working and highly educated people. It does not need hard working and hard-hearted people."Last month, the Finance Minister had said Mr Modi's knowledge of the economy can be written on the back of a postage stamp.

"The Recount Minister has been using foul language against me for quite some time now. I have been maintaining silence because the more mud you throw, lotus will blossom all the more," Mr Modi said today, adding, "He behaves as if he was the first in the queue when God was distributing intelligence."Earlier today, Mr Modi addressed rallies in Imphal and Guwahati where he lashed out at the Centre and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.