Congress polarizing voters, says Modi

Ghaziabad, April 3 (IANS) BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Thursday accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi of polarizing voters on communal lines.

Addressing an election rally here, Modi also said that the secularism plank of the Congress had failed to woo voters this time.

"The game of secularism is over. So Congress leaders are taking the route of communalism to get votes," Modi said in an apparent reference to Gandhi's meeting with Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid.

Gandhi had reportedly asked Bukhari to ensure that "secular" votes didn't split in the Lok Sabha election.

Modi expressed surprise that the Election Commission had not taken notice of the incident despite news channels running the Sonia-Imam meet story since Wednesday.

"Why has the Election Commission not issued any suo moto notice?" Modi asked.

The Gujarat chief minister said the BJP stood for unity and development whereas the Congress believed in divide and rule.

"For us secularism means every community is our own. For the Congress, secularism is just an election plank...

"The Congress refutes my talk on development by raking in secularism. They know they are going to lose," Modi said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded former Indian Army chief, General V.K. Singh, in Ghaziabad.