Taking both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and her party’s erstwhile ruling ally NCP head on, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday ridiculed Modi’s claim that he would take Maharashtra ahead of Gujarat in terms of development and slammed the Sharad Pawar-led party for its greed for power.
Addressing election rallies at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra and Aurangabad in Marathwada, Sonia hit out at BJP for “spreading hatred” in the society and Modi for making tall baseless claims ahead of the Assembly polls.
Exhorting the voters not to get carried away by both the BJP and its erswhilke ally Shiv Sena, the Congress president said: “Their aim is to spread hatred in society. Don't get swayed by the BJP, which changes masks. Opportunist parties like BJP and Shiv Sena can do anything for power. They may look separate but in reality they are one".
Targetting the NCP, Sonia said: "Till yesterday, they (NCP) were with us. I want to alert you. Tomorrow they may align with anyone. Their only goal is kursi (power)," she said.
Debunking Modi’s claim that he would make Maharashtra a better state than Gujarat in terms of development, Sonia said: “We get to hear in Modi’s campaign speeches that he would take Maharashtra ahead of Gujarat in terms of development. Whoa! What an interesting claim is thisIJ These people do not even know that Maharashtra is already ahead of Gujarat in almost all sectors”.
Ridiculing Modi for oft-repeated criticism that the Congress had done precious little to the country during the past 60 years in terms of development, Sonia said: "When Nehru was laying foundation stone of Bhakra Nangal dam, the leader concerned who is making tall claims today was just five-years-old. When Indira Gandhi launched the Green Revolution, he was 13-years-old. When Rajiv Gandhi began the IT revolution, the people from the party opposed him"
"They say those who didn't do anything in 60 years are asking to them give an account of 60 days in office. I ask you, why are you so apprehensive about accounting for the work done by you ever since your party came to power at the CentreIJ,” Sonia asked.
Accusing Modi of having failed to deliver on his promises made ahead of the lok Sabha polls, Sonia said: "When polls come, they say big things but their reality is different. During the lok Sabha polls, they made tall promises. What happened to their promise of reducing inflation in 100 daysIJ What happenedIJ".
Singling out the Prime Minister for a fierce criticism, Sonia charged that Modi had not fulfilled none of his promises made ahead of the lok Sabha and that the Modi was merely implementing the schemes of the previous UPA government, by changing their names."They ridiculed schemes of Congress government but are going ahead with the same schemes," she said.
Sonia also castigated the Modi government over its “mis-handling” of escalating ceasefire violations by Pakistan which had resulted in civilian casualties notwithstanding the government's claim that it was responding tit-for-tat to the shelling. "They had spoken of giving a befitting reply to Pakistan. What happenedIJ" Sonia asked.
Sonia was also critical of the Modi for involving the legacy of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji to seek votes in the Assembly polls “They now invoke Shivaji Maharaj during election but when our government announced its plan to errect a grand statue of Shivaji in the Arabian Sea, they opposed it," the congress president said.
