Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma described the current lok Sabha elections as a confrontation between two ideologies “inclusive” and “liberal” ideology of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ideology of “polarisation.”
Sharma addressing media persons here on Monday said, “The Congress believes in setting up a mechanism wherein every individual feels that he is participating. On the other hand, the BJP divides people in the name of religion.”
Condemning the promotion of “personality cult” by the saffron party in the form of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, he said the BJP was projecting only Modi in its campaign while other BJP leaders were sidelined.
Flaying the ‘Gujarat model’ that was being touted by the BJP as panacea for all ills plaguing the country, Sharma said Gujarat stood 17th in education sector, 10th in power sector and 16th in public toilet system in the country. He claimed that the western State had actually slipped down in many development parameters in the past 10-15 years.
Pointing out that the Gujarat Chief Minister never responded to queries in State Assembly and did not hold a press conference in the past 12 years, he said, “Modi cannot tolerate anyone asking him questions. Even live coverage of the House proceedings is banned in Gujarat.”
Sharma questioned the “timing” of the book written by former media adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sanjaya Baru, and his claims that PMO files were seen by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“Was Baru personally present at the meetings (held) between the PM and UPA chairperson Sonia GandhiIJ He tries to give the impression that he was personally present at the meetings between the two leaders,” Sharma told reporters here.
Baru’s memoirs The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh has set the cat among the pigeons, by painting a picture of PM as an honest and hardworking man “defanged” by a party keen to lay all the Government’s achievements at the door of Gandhi family.
“Baru had demitted office in 2008... It was strange that he has taken almost six years to tell us what was happening when he was the press adviser to the Prime Minister,” Sharma said.
Baru, who had served as the media advisor to PM during UPA-I, claimed in the book that although Singh was the prime minister, Sonia Gandhi was the real boss and exerted an upper hand on the Prime Minister.
The PMO has already dismissed the claims made by Baru in the book terming them as “totally baseless and mischievous”. “Baru has made claims about some files. As if he used to personally ferry them (files) between the residences of Singh and Sonia,” Sharma said.