Shashi Tharoor asks Modi not to impose Gujarat model of development on rest of India

Union Minister of State for Human Resource and Development , Shashi Tharoor has slammed the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Narendra Modi, and said that Modi has failed in providing good governance in Gujarat.

Addressing media persons in New Delhi on Saturday, Tharoor asked Modi not to implement his much hyped Gujarat model of governance on the rest of the country.

"All we can say to Modi is that please don't impose the Gujarat model of development on the rest of the country because the vast majority of the country treats its poor, its adivasis , its dalits , its unfortunate and marginalised people, its children and its women better than Modi has been able to do in twelve years of his so called good governance in Gujarat," Tharoor said.

In response to BJP leader, Arun Jaitley's comment in defence of Modi, Tharoor hinted at Modi's involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

"We are hearing from Arun Jaitley in response to comments about Modi's inability to get any facts right that we need a prime minister to be a leader, not a reader. Let me say then, we need a prime minister to be a leader, not a bleeder. Not one who makes the nation and its people bleed in this way and particularly its most vulnerable ones," Tharoor added.

Tharoor also jibed at Modi's statement of garnering votes in the name of development and not in the name of caste.

"Modi said that he is not going to be looking for votes in the name of caste, community or religion and that he is only looking for votes in the name of development. I must say that is not terribly surprising because it will be very inconvenient for Modi to start having to look for votes from very specific sections of our society. Where is he going to get votes from Muslim community? We know what he has done for them. Where is he going to get votes from the dalit community? We have a very interesting revelation that 27000 posts in Gujarat reserved for SC/ST candidates are still lying vacant as Modi's government has not been able to fill them," Tharoor said.