Firing a broadside at the Congress first family, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that the assets of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law has risen to Rs 300 crore from a meagre Rs 1 lakh in three years.
Citing a recent report in a US newspaper on Vadra’s fortunes, Modi said at a rally in Chhattisgarh, “They (newspaper) spoke about a Class X pass youth who had only Rs 1 lakh in pocket and then went on to own Rs 300 crore in three years. This is the mother-son’s model. You have heard about 2G (scam), now you hear about Jijaji (brother-in-law). Do we have to leave this country in their handsIJ”
Modi addressed three public meetings in Surguja, Bilaspur and Durg parliamentary seats and focused his attack on the Gandhi family. He predicted that the Congress would be decimated in several States in the 2014 polls and it would not achieve even the double-digit figure in any State.
The BJP’s PM candidate also took a swipe at Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for asking people to ensure Rahul Gandhi’s victory in Amethi. “Sonia ji asked people in Amethi to take care of her son. We are told that he will take care of the country. Is there any logic in thisIJ If he can’t handle Amethi, how can he handle the countryIJ’’ asked Modi amid clapping by a gathering of about 50,000 people, mainly tribals, in poverty-hit Surguja’s Vishrampuri.
After slamming Sonia, for Modi it was the turn of Rahul Gandhi, who had recently assailed some BJP-ruled State Governments over the alleged rise in crime against women.
“Seven of the top 10 States in terms of crimes against women were ruled by the Congress. I think the new slogan of the Congress is “har haath loot, har bol jhoot”, said the Gujarat Chief Minister amid chant by women audience. He accused Rahul Gandhi of misleading the country on the issue of women’s safety.
Modi also used the explanation made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s media adviser Pankaj Pachauri to attack the PM and the Congress leadership. “For the first time, the PMO had to do a Press conference to say that the PM spoke 1,100 times in 10 years,” he said, adding, “the PM’s performance is that he spoke 1,100 times in 10 years.”
The BJP leader said that the Sanjaya Baru’s book revealed that it was not Manmohan Singh but “ma-bete (Sonia-Rahul)” who were running the Government.