A day after he claimed that  the country was ‘completely safe when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, P Chidambaram, Former Finance and Home Minister and Congress strongman, was in for a shock on Saturday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi unleashed a series of charges against him.

Speaking to a newspaper in Chennai which is known for is closeness to the family,  Chidambaram had claimed that India was completely safe under Manmohan Singh’s Government. “Borders were secure, infiltration came down, civilian and security forces’ casualties came down drastically. Under Modi Government, people living in villages were evacuated and I am told that 30,000 families have been evacuated,” Chidambaram has said in the interview which was published on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who campaigned extensively in Tamil Nadu addressing rallies at Rameswaram and Theni said the father-son duo were looting the country. “While Chidambaram was the union Finance Minister, his son was looting the Government of India. This was being done with the concurrence of the father,” said Prime Minister Modi.

Reacting to DMK chief M K Stalin’s allegation that the Centre was ignoring the rights of Tamil Nadu, the Prime Minister said that the State had received more financial aid during the last five years than what it had received under the entire Congress rule.

The BJP scored an impressive lead on Friday as Union Minister Piyush Goyal making it clear that the National Eligibility and Entrance Examination (NEET) was here to stay and there was no question of it being quashed. “We are ready to conduct the test in Tamil but there is no question of going back on the decision to hold the NEET,” Goyal told reporters at Chennai.

This was in stark contrast to the stance of Rahul Gndhi, the Congress president, who told a rally at Krishnagiri on Friday that if the  people of the State do not want the NEET, his party would quash it.