Modi mocks Rahul for raking up Gujarat model

Bijapur (Karnataka), March 30 (IANS) Mocking Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for raising the Gujarat model of development, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Sunday said the Congress is "shaking in fear" ahead of the Lok Sabha poll as it knows it will be ousted.

"I would like to ask Congress shehzade (prince) if the present polls are for electing MPs and political parties to govern the country or electing MLAs (legislators) and a CM (chief minister) in Gujarat. Why is he (Rahul) talking about the Gujarat model?" Modi, also the Gujarat chief minister, said at an election rally here, about 500 km from Bangalore.

Polling in all the state's 28 parliamentary constituencies will be held in a single phase April 17.

Modi also claimed the ruling Congress was "scared".

"Why is the Congress so scared, why is the Congress shaking in fear," he asked the cheering crowd.

"The Congress knows its place very well. It knows after May 16 (vote counting day) where its place will be. That is why it wants to stop Modi."

Advising Gandhi to stick to national issues as the upcoming elections were for Lok Sabha and not Gujarat assembly, Modi said instead of predicting that the Gujarat development model would soon burst like a balloon, the Congress leader should tell the people what the UPA government had done or not done during its 10-year rule in Delhi.

"Why is he discussing Gujarat and our government during parliamentary elections? He should tell the people why the UPA government failed to control prices after promising to do within 100 days of returning to power in 2009 or why it could not generate more than 12.5 million jobs in 10 years as against 70.5 million jobs by the NDA government in six years (1998-2004)," Modi said in his hour-long speech in Hindi.

Reminding Gandhi that the people of Gujarat had already endorsed the Gujarat model by electing his party fourth time and him for third time consecutively in December 2012 assembly polls, Modi said Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, headed by his mother (and Congress president) Sonia Gandhi, had ranked Gujarat number one in development among all states across the country.

"Rahul should have faith at least in his mother and accept what the Foundation, headed by Sonia and named after his father (Rajiv), had said about the Gujarat model after surveying the state on all development indices," Modi said drawing jeers from boisterous crowds.

Calling upon the people to vote for Bharatiya Janata Party by pressing on its lotus symbol button, he said the country should be freed from Congress to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi's last wish.

"During his last days after independence, Gandhiji had told then Congress leaders to wind up their party as its purpose of securing freedom for the nation was achieved and it had outlived. It's time we fulfilled his wish by liberating the country from an arrogant and corrupt party," he said.

The Gujarat chief minister was an hour behind schedule at the venue in this backward region, as his public rallies in neighbouring Maharashtra got delayed.