Bangalore: Taking umbrage at Narendra Modi’s repeated acidic attacks on Third Front, former Prime Minister and JDS chief H D Deve Gowda on Friday said BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate should not “cross limits” in his speech.

“Modi should be restrained. He should not think he can reach his goal (of becoming PM) through use of such language,” Gowda told reporters here, hitting back at Gujarat Chief Minister who had even said Third Front wants to make India “third rate”.

Sharpening his attacks on Third Front in his campaign in some non-Congress, non-BJP ruled states, Modi had said most parties in the grouping had been supporting Congress and “time has come to teach them a lesson”.

Gowda said Modi himself was a Chief Minister and had no administrative experience at the national level. “His party might have recognised him as prime ministerial candidate but have the people done so?”

“Is he greater than Vajpayee or L K Advani. He should not exceed his limits in speech,” the JDS leader said.

Claiming that heading the United Front government, he had good developmental programmes, he said “political force” other than Congress and BJP had been growing in each state for the last 30 to 40 years.

Gowda said the party would contest all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka.