'Pakoda' jibe: Chidambaram says BJP 'deflecting debate on jobs'

After facing flak for his 'pakoda' jibe, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "distorting" and "deflecting" the debate on jobs.

Chidambaram took to his Twitter page to say, "1. A young man who sells pakodas is honorably self-employed but poor and aspirational. Ask him and he will tell you that he aspires to a regular and secure job. I empathize with him".

"2. BJP should not distort and deflect the debate on jobs. BJP should tell us how many regular jobs were created in the last three years", he continued in the second tweet.

Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying a 'pakoda' seller earning Rs 200 a day should also be considered employed, Chidambaram had earlier tweeted, "Even selling pakodas is a 'job', said PM. By that logic, even begging is a job. Let's count poor or disabled persons who are forced to beg for a living as 'employed' people".

The comment drew castigation from the BJP, which characterised his jibe as an "insult to the poor".

-ANI