Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday tore into the Congress and the Gandhi family, accusing them of nursing hatred and vengeance for Gujarat and Gujaratis, saying that a conspiracy was hatched to put even him in jail but it failed. Gujarat has been an eyesore for "the party and the family", he said, in comments that come ahead of the Assembly elections in Gujarat due in December.
The PM likened the polls with a Yagna for a strong democracy to which all BJP workers must contribute. "We have been listening that whenever there was a Yagna in Satyug performed by deities for the goodwill of society, devils came to disrupt that. Be it Satyug of Kalyug, devils always come to disrupt such a Yagna, and today Congress in the form of a devil has come to disrupt the Yagna of democracy with their ill wills."
Addressing a gathering of 3.5 lakh BJP workers at Bhat village near Ahmedabad, the PM said the Congress sent Amit Shah, now BJP president, to jail to ultimately get him but could not succeed as the allegations were baseless.
"You did not waste any opportunity to strike. When I was the chief minister and you (Congress) were in power at the Centre, you hatched a conspiracy to put me in jail. You knew that it was not possible until Amit Shah was put behind bars, you did that. This is the poison, the malice you harbour," Modi said at the rally held to mark the conclusion of the BJP's "Gujarat Gaurav Yatra".
Modi said the "Congress and the family" slighted tall several leaders from Gujarat such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Morarji Desai. "Since (Sardar Vallabhbhai) Patel conceived the Narmada project, it was not allowed to be completed for 40-50 years."
The PM said he would not repeat what the Congress did to Sardar Patel, his daughter Maniben, and Morarji Desai, Babubhai Jashbhai Patel and their own Congress CM Madhavsinh Solanki. Turn to P4
"They did not speak about the work of Morarji Desai or his dedication and commitment to Mahatma Gandhi's ideals. They instead chose to talk about what he ate and drank," the PM said.
He accused the Congress of pursuing "negative politics" and dared the party to fight the upcoming polls on the development plank. "They are making fun of development, because development offends them. I challenge them openly that if they wish to fight this battle, they should make development a poll agenda and should stop spreading myth," he said.
The PM said the election was a fight between vikasvaad (development politics) and vanshvaad (dynasty politics). "Development will triumph over family rule," he said.
Reacting to the PM's onslaught, Gujarat Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki said that he appeared to be frustrated and scared to such an extent that he was only seeing Rahul Gandhi everywhere.
"The manner in which the PM was screaming truly shows that Vikas has gone crazy," Solanki said, adding that the Congress government will order a judicial inquiry to look into the benefits the BJP government has doled to large corporate houses.
(With PTI inputs)
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