March 16, 2009 12:42 IST
On a campaign trail in western Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar [Images] and Bharatiya Janata Party [Images] leader Narendra Modi [Images] derided each other, with the Maharashtra strongman describing the saffron campaigner as the 'frontline leader of communal forces' in the country.
Modi hit back, saying Pawar has been hoodwinked by the Congress on the issue of prime ministership.
The Gujarat chief minister, who launched the BJP-Shiv Sena's poll drive in Pune, said Pawar failed to understand the Congress' strategy to keep him out of the race for the top post.
Referring to the recent statement by Pawar that a Maharashtrian should get an opportunity to become PM, Modi said by making Pratibha Patil [Images] the President, the Congress had employed a 'shrewd ploy' to sideline the NCP president.
The seasoned politician in Pawar, however, failed to gauge the Congress game, Modi added. In a sarcastic vein, he said, "If Pawar had any substance; he should at least see to it that a Maharashtrian becomes the captain of the Indian cricket team."
Continuing his marathon election meetings in neighbouring Ahmednagar district, Pawar branded Modi as the 'frontline leader' of communal forces in the country, who was responsible for destroying the lives of hundreds of people in Gujarat, maligning the image of that state.
"This communal leader has come to Maharashtra (for campaigning) but people of this state would never accept his ideology," Pawar said.
"We love the Gujarat of Mahatma Gandhi [Images] and Sardar Patel," he said, appealing to voters to remove the 'poisonous weed' of communal thoughts from the state.
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Monday, March 16, 2009
Rs 50,000 crore missing from govt coffers: Modi
March 16, 2009 10:27 IST
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [Images] on Sunday night alleged that a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had found that Rs 50,000 crore was unaccounted for and 'missing from the central government's coffers'.
"The country wants to know from Prime Minster Manmohan Singh [Images] about this money that has simply vanished," Modi, who launched the election campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra on Sunday, said.
Training guns on Dr Singh, Modi said the country should know whether the huge sum of "missing money purportedly mentioned in the CAG report was being used for election purposes by the ruling party".
"Daal me kuch kala hai (There is something fishy about this)", he charged. Targeting the prime minister, whom he described as a reputed economist, Modi alleged it was intriguing that the Harshad Mehta stock scam had happened when Singh was the finance minister in the Narsimha Rao government.
"Today, when he is Prime Minister, the Satyam [Get Quote] fiasco has surfaced. Why do such things happen when he is at the helm? Is it the result of his economic policies or something else," Modi told the large gathering.
The BJP leader also accused Singh of backtracking on the building of the national road network infrastructure that was started by Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the National Democratic Alliance's rules.
In a scathing attack on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, Modi alleged that it had failed to deliver on all fronts including 'security and development' and had compromised on the fight against terrorism by revoking the Prevention of Terrorism [Images] Act.
"The revocation of POTA led to celebrations in Pakistan and agony in Hindustan," he claimed.
Speaking on the Mumbai terror attacks [Images], Modi alleged it was a pity that ministers were making trips to complain to the United States, about the terror attack on Mumbai.
"Terrorism should be retaliated in the same manner. Instead of the US, India should have entered Pakistan to give a befitting reply," he declared.
Modi said the presence of Taliban [Images] in Karachi posed a direct threat to Mumbai. He also blamed the Congress government for the Naxalite menace. He charged that the failure of India's foreign policy led to the rise of Maoists in Nepal.
Modi also took on the UPA for its failure to control spiraling prices and unemployment and appealed to the people to vote BJP to power.
At the beginning of his speech, Modi, who is in charge of BJP affairs in Maharashtra, congratulated the Shiv Sena [Images] and BJP leaders for keeping the yuti (saffron alliance) intact to fight the elections.
"I am happy that Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's [Images] health has stabilised and we have his blessings," he added. BJP leaders Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari also addressed the gathering.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [Images] on Sunday night alleged that a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had found that Rs 50,000 crore was unaccounted for and 'missing from the central government's coffers'.
"The country wants to know from Prime Minster Manmohan Singh [Images] about this money that has simply vanished," Modi, who launched the election campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra on Sunday, said.
Training guns on Dr Singh, Modi said the country should know whether the huge sum of "missing money purportedly mentioned in the CAG report was being used for election purposes by the ruling party".
"Daal me kuch kala hai (There is something fishy about this)", he charged. Targeting the prime minister, whom he described as a reputed economist, Modi alleged it was intriguing that the Harshad Mehta stock scam had happened when Singh was the finance minister in the Narsimha Rao government.
"Today, when he is Prime Minister, the Satyam [Get Quote] fiasco has surfaced. Why do such things happen when he is at the helm? Is it the result of his economic policies or something else," Modi told the large gathering.
The BJP leader also accused Singh of backtracking on the building of the national road network infrastructure that was started by Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the National Democratic Alliance's rules.
In a scathing attack on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, Modi alleged that it had failed to deliver on all fronts including 'security and development' and had compromised on the fight against terrorism by revoking the Prevention of Terrorism [Images] Act.
"The revocation of POTA led to celebrations in Pakistan and agony in Hindustan," he claimed.
Speaking on the Mumbai terror attacks [Images], Modi alleged it was a pity that ministers were making trips to complain to the United States, about the terror attack on Mumbai.
"Terrorism should be retaliated in the same manner. Instead of the US, India should have entered Pakistan to give a befitting reply," he declared.
Modi said the presence of Taliban [Images] in Karachi posed a direct threat to Mumbai. He also blamed the Congress government for the Naxalite menace. He charged that the failure of India's foreign policy led to the rise of Maoists in Nepal.
Modi also took on the UPA for its failure to control spiraling prices and unemployment and appealed to the people to vote BJP to power.
At the beginning of his speech, Modi, who is in charge of BJP affairs in Maharashtra, congratulated the Shiv Sena [Images] and BJP leaders for keeping the yuti (saffron alliance) intact to fight the elections.
"I am happy that Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's [Images] health has stabilised and we have his blessings," he added. BJP leaders Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari also addressed the gathering.
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