Jasdan (Rajkot)(IANS) : Launching a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress president Sonia Gandhi Saturday charged it with preaching the name of Mahatma Gandhi while actually practising the ideology of his assassin, Nathuram Godse.
Giving an impetus to her party’s poll campaign in Gujarat, Gandhi accused the BJP of double speak and making empty promises to the state’s electorate.
Addressing a public rally in Jasdan locality of Rajkot district, Gandhi said: “I am surprised that they talk of Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. They talk of Gandhi and practice what Godse stood for. They talk of Patel and at the same time follow the policy of dividing the people. They claim to be taking the state on the path of development but are actually taking it on the path of disaster.”
The political stakes in Saurashtra are very high for both the major political parties as there are 52 seats in the region. While the BJP had swept it in 2002, this time things are difficult as it is facing major dissidence.
Gandhi asked the people to choose between the actual development work done by successive Congress governments at the centre and in the state and the “empty promises” made by the BJP under Narendra Modi over the last six years.
She also criticised the BJP for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and accused it of making the state unsafe for women and children.
Jasdan is a locality dominated by voters belonging to the Koli community and contestants from both the parties here are Kolis. Gandhi chose to talk to the electorate about the recent rape and murder of a Koli girl, Chandni, in Junagadh whose killers are still at large.
“Do you want a Gujarat that is safe for your women and children or do you want a state where there is insecurity and injustice being offered by the government?” she told a rally that was well attended by women.
Addressing the rally, union Textile Minister Shankersinh Vaghela asked the electorate to seek an account of the performance from the BJP when its leaders approach them for support.
“Ask them why they ignore the masses and play into the hands of a few industrialists. Ask them why they have failed to deliver on the power and water front,” he said.
Gujarat will have assembly polls on Dec 11 and 16.