Congress leaders slam Narendra Modi in Gujarat poll rallies

The diatribe was led by Union ministers Aanad Sharma, Ajay Maken, AICC spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit among other Congress leaders, who spoke at as many as 10 rallies organised by the party in various parts of the state going to polls on December 13 and 17.

"When it comes to GDP growth, Gujarat is lagging behind states like Bihar, Odhisa and Chhattishgarh," said Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma while addressing a public meeting in Gandhinagar.

"Narendra Modi says Gujarat is most progressive, but if you have been to other states, Bihar, Odisha and Chattisgarh are much ahead," he said.

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ajay Maken alleged at a rally at Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha district that the ruling BJP government was neck-deep in corruption in the name of development.

"Whatever development achieved so far was the result of collective efforts of people and particularly farmers of the state (Gujarat)," he said.

Congress MP Jyoti Mirdha expressed concern over "uncontrolled corruption" by BJP in the state and appealed to the gathering to vote Congress to power.

In a rally at Gandhinagar, MP and AICC spokesperson Sandip Dikshit criticised Modi for his remarks on Union Minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar. "Modi has lost the decency and crossed all the limits of falsehood," he said.

In a scathing attack on Modi in the same rally, Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Bharat Solanki termed Modi as "Nathuram Godse" and alleged that "under the BJP rule in Gandhi's Gujarat not truth but lies carry more currency".

He alleged that Modi government was welcoming industrialists with garland and selling state electricity to other states. "Farmers in the state are ending their lives for not getting sufficient power," Solanki added.

Addressing another election campaign in Mehsana, Haryana minister Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that Modi government was "exploiting" farmers.