India, Sept. 16 -- Rubbishing the allegations of "vote theft" raised by the opposition at the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "steals hearts, not votes", and has earned international respect.

"They allege theft of votes but Modi steals hearts (Modi ji vote chori nahin karte, dilon ki chori karte hai), and he has stolen hearts of us all," Gupta said in Hindi, as she spoke at a Vishwakarma Puja programme held at a mall in the city, reported news agency PTI.

"Like 'Makhanchor' ('one who steals butter', Lord Krishna fondly called by the name for his love for fresh butter during his childhood), Modi is 'mann ka chor' (one who steals hearts)," said the CM, heaping prai...