In an apparent reference to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he was “glad that certain political leaders in the country had learned how to give speeches”, ANI reported. At an address in Varanasi, Modi said there was no chance of an “earthquake” in the country now that such leaders had spoken.

On December 9, Gandhi had claimed there would be an “earthquake” in the country if he was allowed to speak on demonetisation in the Lok Sabha. Following that, Gandhi had also claimed that he had information on Modi’s “personal corruption”. In response to Modi’s remarks, Gandhi said he did not mind if the prime minister mocked him as long as he answered the questions he raised about this corrupt practices.

Modi also referred to remarks made by former prime minister Manmohan Singh on the lack of technological infrastructure in the country, saying he was bearing the burden of previous governments’ legacies in dealing with poverty. “When I said things can be managed without cash in the pocket, the former prime minister asked how this could be implemented in a country where 50% of the people are poor,” Modi said. “Now tell me, is he showing his report card or mine?”

The prime minister further said that the Opposition’s criticism of the demonetisation of high-value currency notes was exposing their “black mind” to the people of the country. “I want to tell the leaders of the nation that we believe in the power of 125 crore citizens. It is an exemplary example that the citizens are suffering so much, not for their own benefit, but for the nation’s development,” he said.

Opposition leaders, including Singh and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, have criticised the government’s currency ban move. On Wednesday, Gandhi accused the prime minister of having received crores from the Sahara Group, alleging that the Income Tax Department had not not taken action in the matter despite having relevant records. “An independent inquiry must be initiated,” he had said. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party had dismissed his claims, calling Gandhi “a part-time, non-serious political leader”.