“After the election, people stopped targeting me, but started making the people of Gujarat the target of their attack,” Modi said in his address at the concluding function of the Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO) at NSC ground in Goregaon.

“Now that I have won the elections, the media and the opponents are saying that the people of Gujarat are bad. Had I lost the elections, the same people would have called the people of Gujarat intelligent,” he said.

Modi said he has been under attack from different quarters since 2002, and it has been like a battle for him.

“If I have done something wrong, I am ready to face the consequences, but I know if I am right then ultimately the victory will be mine,” he said.

He said, the so-called intellectuals, who were now targeting the people of Gujarat for having elected him to power, had lost their minds. Speaking about development of industry in the state, he said, as the Chief Minister, he would protect everyone who would, or have in the past, put money for the development of the state.

“We have lived under slavery for many years, and often tend to forget that we can prosper. We should be proud of our culture and pay attention to that,” he added.