By IANS
Vagasia (Gujarat) : Urging people of Gujarat to vote for change, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi came down heavily on Chief Minister Narendra Modi for making tall claims on the development front, as she launched the party’s election campaign in the state from this town Saturday.
She criticised Modi for whipping up the Ram Sethu issue as a major poll plank and, in a reference to the Tehelka expose on the communal violence of 2002, she said the Modi government had brought shame to Gujarat, a state whose leaders have made great contributions to national life.
“We hang our heads in shame,” she said.
Launching the party’s election campaign for the assembly polls scheduled for Dec 11 and 16, the Congress president said: “There is now a golden opportunity for women in the state to decide and act to ensure that women power is restored and that the state is free of fear, injustice and corruption and regains the spirit of humanity for which it was well known.”
Vagasia, 60 km from Ahmedabad, is in Anand district in the heart of Gujarat. Traditionally a Congress stronghold, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wrested many seats in the region in the 2002 elections.
An estimated 50,000-strong crowed cheered and waved at Gandhi as her helicopter touched down at a helipad near the venue. She in return responded to their greetings by repeatedly waving to the crowd from the podium.
Listing the various measures the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had taken for upliftment and empowerment of women, Gandhi said the centre had allocated billions of rupees for various projects. “Whether the funds have been utilised for the intended programmes (by the state government), people here are the best judge to know,” she added.
Attacking the BJP for misleading people on the Ram Sethu issue, she questioned if a party which drags Hindu god Ram’s name for political gains trusted can be trusted. She also demanded to know why the BJP was not telling the truth that the controversial Sethusamudram project was approved by the BJP-led NDA government.
In an apparent reference to the Tehelka expose, Gandhi spoke about the need to fight anti-social forces, failing which there could be “dangerous consequences” for secular and democratic India.