Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily termed the BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi a 'megalomaniac' and a 'communal person', calling for the Left to reunite with secular forces if they were really interested in 'secular politics'.

Senior Congress leader and Union Minister M Veerappa Moily termed the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi a 'megalomaniac' and a 'communal person', calling for the Left to reunite with secular forces if they were really interested in 'secular politics'.

Indicating that the Congress was keen on reuniting with the Left, almost six years after their 59 MPs withdrew support to UPA 1 over the Indo-US nuclear deal, Moily told The Indian Express in an interview that there was no reason for the Left to think otherwise as the UPA government has implemented everything they were thinking of (in terms of social sector).

"I think we should. After all, coalitions have to stay, especially when there is such a big threat from a megalomaniac and communal person like Modi. All secular forces and the Left should come together," Moily said when asked whether the Congress was looking at bridging its relations with the Left.

Moily is also a member of the Congress's pre-poll alliance committee that is headed by senior Congress leader AK Antony.

However, this is not the first time Moily has slammed the Gujarat CM. In January this year, in an interview to Reuters, Moily went to the extent of saying Modi's rise as the PM could disintegrate the country.

"Mr. Modi is a blotted figure and ultimately when it comes down to realities, you know, I don't think, you know, he will be a figure, will be counted for the country, forget about becoming the Prime Minister, he cannot contribute any value to the BJP," Moily told Reuters.

"Genocide has gone in. More than 2,000 people died and killed on the streets when Modi was the Chief Minister and they always wanted to, even Modi wanted to shield those people. He didn't, you know, prosecute them," he further said.

Interestingly, at a meeting in the Congress War Room, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday disapproved of personal attacks on opposition leaders, indicating that the Congress leadership was not happy with Mani Shankar Aiyar's recent "chaiwala" jibe at Modi, news agency PTI reported.

"It is wrong to make personal attacks on opposition," Gandhi told a meeting of party spokespersons called to elicit suggestions on how best to get the message of Congress across to people in the coming Lok Sabha elections. He, however, did not name Aiyar.

You can read the entire Indian Express interview here.