Kickstarting his election campaign in Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Congress of sympathising with Maoists and calling them "revolutionary" and ruining the lives of tribals.

"You people must have seen the Urban Maoists, seated in air-conditioned rooms in cities, who look good, are in good company and enjoy status," he told a public rally here ahead of the first phase of the two-phase election in the state on Monday. "But while seated there, through remote control, they ruin the lives of the tribal children here," the Prime Minister said, adding that a bunch of such people were contesting elections this time.