Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of breaking ties between citizens belonging to different backgrounds, reported PTI.

“If he is breaking the relationships between people of India, then he is shattering the idea of India,” Gandhi said at the inauguration of a dialysis centre in Kerala’s Malappuram district. “That is why I oppose him.”

The Congress MP from Wayanad also alleged that Modi was arrogant in thinking that only he knew and understood India.

Gandhi said the prime minister made such claims without actually finding out about the way of life, culture, language and problems of the people living in different states of the country or those belonging to various religions.

“If I go to these places with arrogance, then I am a fool,” he said. “How can I go to people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, who have a history of thousands of years, and claim to know them. I have to go there with humility. Otherwise, how can I define what India is?”

The Congress MP said that it was his duty to “repair the bridges between the people” with love and compassion.

The Congress leader also criticised Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar for whom, Gandhi said, India was based on its geography.

“They take a pen, draw a map and say this is India,” he said. “Outside this line, it is not India and inside this line, it is India...The fight here is between humility and arrogance, between temper and compassion, between self interest and welfare of others.”