On a day BJP’s PM hopeful Narendra Modi formally launched his campaign for lok Sabha polls, Aam Aadmi Party and its chief Arvind Kejriwal came under a fiery attack from the BJP leader. Modi, who had so far been evading Kejriwal’s charges against him, began with terming the AAP as ‘B-team’ of the Congress.
Addressing his probably the sole election rally in Delhi, the Gujarat Chief Minister accused AAP of siding by the Congress despite securing a mandate against the latter in the Assembly polls. “The Aam Aadmi Party has betrayed the people of Delhi by stitching an alliance with the Congress. The party ran away from the Government to benefit the Congress in the lok Sabha polls and create a suitable atmosphere for it. This is a unique alliance between Congress and Congress-B. First run the Government with Congress support and then resign to help.
Congress across the country with your campaign. It (AAP) also allowed Congress to run Delhi by back door through the Governor,” Modi said as he cautioned Delhiites against voting the AAP in the ensuing polls. “Indians can forgive a mistake but not a betrayal,” he added. It was for the first time Modi hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party; though without naming the party or its leaders. Modi had preferred a silence even when Kejriwal toured Gujarat and termed his claims of development in the state as ‘bogus’.
Modi was addressing a gathering over 20,000 at Seelampur in the Capital amid heightened security in wake of terror threats. He was campaigning for all seven BJP candidates in the national Capital. The venue of the rally was strategically chosen as the area is dominated by the Muslims, Poorvanchalis and the Dalits mostly belonging to the marginalised sections of the society. Flanked by a huge gathering that waited for two hours to hear him, Modi felt their pulse and raked up the issue of poor infrastructure and lack of basic amenities in the area. “It is very unfortunate to see the pitiable state of affairs in trans-Yamuna areas. People here equally deserve basic amenities and all other comforts,” the prime ministerial candidate said.
Modi was also unrelenting in his attack on the Congress and its vice president Rahul Gandhi. Using the ‘Shahzade’ barb against Gandhi, he lamented at his experimental election of primaries in 16 lok Sabha seats saying the Congress candidate from Vadodara was ‘forced’ to withdraw his nomination despite emerging as the winner. “He was made to quit because he is a Dalit. Is it a crime to be born to a dalit mother,” he asked. Modi ridiculed the Congress saying it was stitching alliance with other parties just to stop him from coming to power. The BJP leader also dismissed the Congress manifesto released on Wednesday as full of ‘lies’ and ‘misleading’ with promises which were made in previous elections too but not fulfilled.