With today's speech there's no doubt, while Rahul may want to stay away from it, Modi wants it to be an all out war of words between the Congress Vice President and him.

Narendra Modi, the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, went after Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for claiming that Muslim youth affected by the Muzaffarnagar riots were in touch with Pakistani intelligence agencies, and said if their names couldn't be revealed, the Congress leader should apologise.

"Who are young persons in touch with the ISI? If you can't reveal their names, you should seek forgiveness for sullying the community's reputation," Modi said at a rally in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh today.

During his rally in Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi had claimed to have met an official from an intelligence agency who had said that Muslim youths affected by the Muzaffarnagar riots had made contact with Pakistani's intelligence agency Inter Service Intelligence.

Without referring to Gandhi by name and constantly calling him shahzada (prince) in his speech, Modi questioned why the Congress government hadn't been able to prevent the ISI from making contact with the youth.

"Sometimes it feels like the Congress is a news agency, that tells us what the ISI is doing," Modi told his audience.

Constantly mocking the Congress vice president, Modi said that it was questionable as to why intelligence agencies were sharing information with Gandhi for his speeches despite him not having taking an oath of silence.

Modi also criticised the Congress Vice President's claim that he had felt angry when his grandmother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was killed.

"This shahzada has said that when my daadi died I felt very angry. Didn't all Congress people get angry and kill hundreds of Sikhs. Not even one of them has faced punishment so far," he said.

Modi urged voters to send him to Delhi not as a Prime Minister but as a 'chowkidaar' (guard) for the nation's treasures.

He questioned the accountability of the present government and said that leaders like Rahul Gandhi gave no explanation for corruption, price rise, crimes against women and many other ills of the nation.

At the beginning of his speech, Modi mocked Gandhi by telling the audience that he had not come to weep before them or tell them emotional tales but to wipe away their tears.

"I have come to promise that I will wipe away the tears of the poorest of the poor in Bundelkhand," he said.

The BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate also said that the Congress over the last 60 years had only managed to ensure that the poor went from eating half a roti to a full roti, a sign of its dismal failure.

"My countrymen, you have given the Congress 60 years. Give us 60 months and see the difference. If you give the BJP months we will change the fortunes of the country," he told the audience that often chanted his name.

Modi also claimed that the Congress and Samajwadi Party had looted the region of Bundelkhand of the funds that were to be received by it.

"Enough about packages, it is now time to send the SP-Congress government packing," he said.

With Lok Sabha elections due to be held less than six months from now, a win in Uttar Pradesh will help the BJP get closer to the 272 seats required for a majority in the Lok Sabha. Modi is key to that plan and he referred to his own background to establish a connect with the audience.

With today's speech there's no doubt, while Rahul may want to stay away from it, Modi wants it to be an all out war of words between the Congress Vice President and him. Modi's speech today was more targeted at Rahul Gandhi's speeches than what he had planned for the nation or his audience in the event that he did become Prime Minister.

Modi even took the contentious step of going after the Congress over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots despite the fact that he himself faces allegations of not doing anything to curb the 2002 communal riots of Gujarat. It perhaps only tells us that no matter what the Congress says about its Prime Ministerial candidate, Modi is going to keep taking on Gandhi until the national elections as his chief opponent.

The battle of rhetoric is already white hot with the state elections approaching. If today's speech was any indication, Modi won't stop going after the Congress Vice President any time soon and the battle of words will continue for months to come.