CHANDIGARH: The head of Punjab's ruling party and one of the pillars of the BJP-led NDA has declared his unqualified support to Narendra Modi , while taking pot-shots at "reluctant", "disappearing" Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Sukhbir Singh Badal , the deputy chief minister of Punjab and the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal , one of the two remaining regional players in the NDA, told ET that his party had no quibble with whoever the BJP chose as its leader. "I can't comment on what the BJP feels internally about Narendra Modi. That is entirely their matter... We have no issues with whoever the BJP chooses as its leader," he said in a rare 45-minute interview.Badal's comments will be music to the ears of the Gujarat chief minister, whose projection as the alliance's likely face for the next general elections has exposed deep fissures in the BJP and left its allies uneasy. Badal also backed Modi on some of his comments that have triggered an avalanche of criticism from political rivals and liberal groups.Badal's caustic comments were reserved for Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He said Rahul Gandhi's behaviour showed that he was no leader. "It looks as if he has been forced into politics. How many times have you seen him in the country? He just spurts, once in a while comes out and then disappears again. He appears reluctant," said Badal.The prime minister, he said, was a "great economist" and a "pioneer" of reforms, but now seemed powerless to push changes through. "Mostly I think it's because of the fact that there is too much interference from 10 Janpath (Congress President Sonia Gandhi 's residence) and other political considerations," Badal said, as he accused the UPA government of riding roughshod over Parliament.