Gujarat will never accept Congress: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Congress party will never be accepted in poll-bound Gujarat for its anti-development stand and for aiming to divide society.

"Any party that is anti-development and prefers to divide society will never be accepted in Gujarat and that is why Congress won't win. Gujarat has not forgotten the mis-governance of the Congress," the Prime Minister said while addressing a public gathering here.

Higlighting the miserable state of the Sabarmati River under the Congress, he said, "The river was not discovered during our time. Do we remember its pitiable condition during the Congress rule. We built a riverfront and you can see the difference in Ahmedabad."

The Prime Minister is confident of the Bharatiya Janata Party coming to power yet again in the state.

"After travelling across Saurashtra, Kutch, South Gujarat and North Gujarat I am now in Ahmedabad. What I am seeing is extraordinary. It is clear that the BJP will emerge victorious. The population of our middle class is rising and so is the strength of our middle class. This section of society aspires to progress at a quick pace," he said.

Paving the way for better economic prospects for small shop owners, he said they can run their shops for long duration as similar to malls.

"Why should it be that only malls can remain open for longer duration? We ensured that small shops can also be open for long- this gives economic opportunities to several people," he stated.

The Prime Minister said that the Centre ensured all those who perpetrated the Amarnath attack were punished by the Indian Armed Forces.

Gujarat has a total number of 182 assembly seats and the polling will be held in two phases.

Voting in 89 constituencies of Saurashtra and South Gujarat region will be held in the first phase on December 9, while the remaining 93 constituencies in Central and northern regions go for polls in the second phase on December 14.

The counting of the two-phase election is slated on December 18.