The one-page pullout highlighted the contributions made by different chief ministers in making Gujarat “a progressive state from birth”, and was purportedly meant to counter Modi’s frequent chest-thumping for it.

However, the joke was on the Congress as, contrary to its protests, the ad sounded far from “satire” and seemed more like praise for Modi. It called the CM “the topmost functionary of his party”, and went on to list his “achievements”: from his Vibrant Gujarat summits to raising of the Narmada dam height to the festivals dotting the state calendar, from Krishi Mahotsav to kite-flying.

Insisted state Congress chief Arjun Modhwadia: “There is nothing good about Modi in the ad. For instance, it shows that the Congress did 90 per cent of the dam project on the Narmada river, while in 10 years of Modi’s rule, the dam was raised only 10 metres.”

Modhwadia claimed that the remark “everything was turned into a festival” was not meant as praise but as a reproach.