Congress is all about one family, says Modi

Modi speaks at an election campaign rally in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

IANS/Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi yesterday launched a scathing attack on the Congress and its leadership, saying it only cared about a family.

Accusing the Congress of dividing the people, Modi told an election rally here: “Divide and rule is in their DNA.”

Modi spoke at Sawai Madhopur after addressing a campaign rally in Alwar, canvassing votes for the BJP for the assembly elections in Rajasthan on December 1.

The Gujarat chief minister accused the Congress of trying to divide the society in order to seek votes. In the process, he alleged, development takes a backseat.

The Congress, which is the ruling party in Rajasthan, had to go, Modi thundered.

Taking a dig at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Modi said: “Shezada (crown prince) says the BJP is ‘chor’ (thief)... Is it a democratic language? Do you speak this language?

“(Veteran playback singer) Lata Mangeshkar said ‘I want Modi to become prime minister and soon’. There was strong opposition to that from Congress leaders; they started to shout from all directions and even asked the government to take her Bharat Ratna back. Do you speak this kind of language?” Modi said the BJP was rooted for development.

“Look at Madhya Pradesh. Under Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s leadership, MP is not a BIMARU state now...

“Do you want to bring Rajasthan out of the BIMARU category? In that case, vote for BJP.”

The BIMARU (meaning sick in Hindi) states are Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Rebutting Gandhi’s charges, Modi said it was the Congress which made fun of the poor.

“They say Rs26 a day is enough,” he said rhetorically, referring to the Planning Commission’s definition of poverty. “You can’t even get 300g of onions for Rs26.”

Modi also pulled up the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government for failing to curb terrorism.

“Our soldiers’ heads were beheaded and some of them were killed in their bunkers,” he said, referring to the killings of Indian soldiers along the Jammu and Kashmir border by Pakistani troops.

“But we offered chicken biryani to the Pakistani president in Rajasthan in the name of protocol.”

Earlier, speaking in Alwar, Modi said that India needed a law to bring back black money stashed abroad.

Saying the corrupt were depositing their ill-gotten wealth in foreign banks, Modi told an election rally that India must get to know details of bank accounts held abroad by Indians.

Questions should be asked of all Indians who hold foreign bank accounts as to where they got their money and how, he said.

Modi’s ire was mainly directed at Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

He accused the Rajasthan government of sleeping “for almost 55 months” and waking up just before the elections.

“The state needs a government that works for all the 60 months.”

He said the Congress government in the state was to blame for the large number of atrocities on tribals and women.

A large number of people in Rajasthan were without drinking water, and the condition of roads was among the worst in the country, he said.

“Over 40 communal riots have taken place in the state and some ministers of your government are behind bars on different allegations,” he said. Modi wondered why Gehlot kept comparing Rajasthan with Gujarat.

“We (Gujarat) have been praised by all and we do not need a certificate from Rajasthan’s chief minister,” he said. “God save the country from Ashok Gehlot’s ways of governance.”

Modi urged Rajasthan’s people to vote for a change.

“Please remember that when you vote on December 1, you are not voting for an MLA or a government but you are voting for the future of Rajasthan.

“You will decide how Rajasthan will develop in times to come.”

As for the Congress, he said it would not survive beyond the 2014 general election.

Meanwhile Gandhi, also campaigning in Rajasthan, accused the opposition of being “anti-poor.”