NaMo targets Rahul, PC in Chennai
BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday tore apart the criticism levelled against him by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Addressing a mammoth rally at Chennai which drew a record crowd of more than three lakh people, Modi said people of Gujarat would never accept Congress because “a senior party leader (Rahul Gandhi) described Gujaratis as “Ullus”. “Three generations of Congress tried to spread lies in Gujarat. But the people never accepted it,” said Modi.
Modi asked the people of Tamil Nadu to cast their votes for development. He chose Chennai to demolish the claims and arguments made by P Chidambaram. With facts and figures Modi, who is also the Chief Minister of Gujarat, proved that his State was far ahead in growth and development when compared to other States in the country.
“When I took up the reins of Gujarat in 2001, the State had a GDP growth of - 4.8 per cent. By 2012-13 our GDP was 10.1 per cent. Recount Minister, I may not have Harvard education. But I came up through hard work,” said Modi. He described Chidambaram as Recount Minister because of the charge levelled by the latter’s opponents that he won the 2009 election from Sivaganga in a dubious recounting. Initially, the authorities had declared that Chidambaram had lost the election.
The BJP leader blasted the Union Government on a number of charges. “last 10 years of UPA rule has destroyed the country. All constitutional and democratic institutions in India have been destroyed by the UPA rule. Though the Supreme Court gave a directive to the Government to distribute the millions of tonnes of grains under its disposal free of cost to the poor, the Government sold it at a price of 80 paisa per kg to liquor manufacturers.
The Planning Commission has become a scarecrow while the National Advisory Council calls the shots. The Prime Minister’s Office has been degraded and there is a disconnect between the party and the Government. A Congress leader had the audacity to tore apart the decision taken by the Union Cabinet,” said Modi.
Modi chose not to personally attack any of his opponents. But failures of the Government at the Centre came under severe criticism from him. “The National Sample Survey Organisation’s latest study says that unemployment rate in India is 2.2 per cent. But in Gujarat it is just 0.5 per cent. Gujarat has the lowest unemployment rate and highest growth rate in the country,” he said.