PM Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi spar during election rallies
Karnal/Beed: Kickstarting BJP' selection campaign in Congress-ruled Haryana and Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today attacked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, saying those seeking audit of his performance of four months in power, have done little in the last 60 years.
Modi, who addressed a series of rallies in Haryana and Maharashtra, which are going for assembly polls on October 15, urged the people to dump the Congress and give a clear majority to BJP, promising them a strong and stable government. Training his guns on Gandhi, Modi said, "Those who ruled for 60 years are demanding the account of what my government did in 60 days. Petrol and diesel prices are down. I promise you I will pull the country out of the current mess in 60 months.
Read: Assembly polls: PM Modi begins BJP campaign, urges voters to rid Haryana of Congress
The Prime Minister was hitting back at Gandhi who, while address an election rally in Meham in Haryana, accused him of trying to "show off" as if everything has been done only after his government came to power and asked what happened to his promise of bringing back black money stashed abroad. "They are creating such an atmosphere as if nothing has happened in the country since Independence and they will change everyone's fortunes overnight. Have any steps been taken by the BJP to fulfil the promises made during the Lok Sabha elections," she asked. "Has inflation come down? Is the poor man getting food at cheaper rate? Have the unemployed got jobs?" she asked.
In a swipe at Modi, she said, "empty vessels make the most noise. Being loud doesn't mean you are speaking truth." Targeting Congress which had described his recent US visit as "over hyped and disappointing", Modi asked, "Was India's presence ever felt in the US like this?". "It is not because of Modi but because of 1.25 crore countrymen. No country can afford to ignore a man behind whom 1.25 crore people stand. Today, the ruler and the society stand together," he said.
Seeking a mandate to rid Haryana of Congress, Modi accused the ruling party in the state over alleged land scams and being "anti-farmer". "Which poor has got a plot, has anyone got...but then where have thousands of acres of land disappeared, who has taken this. Does Haryana want to settle account," he said. Modi took no names but the attack comes against the backdrop of controversies surrounding the land deals of the Congress President's son-in-law Robert Vadra for which the Hooda government is believed to have helped him.
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"Has inflation come down? Is the poor man getting food at cheaper rate? Have the unemployed got jobs?" Sonia had said addressing an election rally in Haryana. Targeting Congress which had described his US visit as 'over hyped and disappointing', Modi asked, "Was India's presence ever felt in the US like this?" "It is not because of Modi but because of 125 crore countrymen. No country can afford to ignore a man behind whom 125 crore rpt 125 crore people stand. Today, the ruler and the society stand together," he said.
Referring to his Summit-level meetings with world leaders, he said both China and Japan would set up state-of-the-art industrial parks in states including Maharashtra. Japan, he said, will cooperate in construction of high-speed railway between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. "All these will create large-scale employment," he said, adding the deal with China for solid waste management and waste water treatment will provide water for irrigation in villages of drought prone regions like Beed.
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Without naming NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Modi said nothing was done to stop farmers suicide in Maharashtra when he was Union Agriculture Minister. "Those who did farmers' politics in Delhi did not do anything to prevent the suicides. 3700 farmers kill themselves each year in the state. Will the farmers of Maharashtra be continued to be murdered like this?" he said. "There is no difference between Congress and NCP, they belong to the same clan. They set separate shops for some reason but their character, ideology, habits and goals are one. They are not nationalists, they are 'bhrashtacharvadi' (corrupt)," he said.
Modi repeatedly invoked Munde, a prominent backward class leader of Maharashtra, whom he called his younger brother, to seek a majority for BJP and its four smaller allies during the Assembly poll. Munde's elder daughter Pankaja is BJP candidate for Parli Assembly seat, while her younger sister Preetam is contesting by-poll for Beed Lok Sabha seat lying vacant following the death of their father.
