Choice before people: Growth or Modi, says Tewari

Taking a pot shot at BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Congress leader Manish Tewari Friday said the people will have to decide whether they want to elect the UPA for inclusive growth or Modi to be subjected to the "aalap of main, main aur main (chorus of me, me and me)".

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, the information and broadcasting minister dismissed recent opinion poll results that have shown the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance as faring very poorly and the Bharatiya Janata Party as leading.

Exuding great confidence, Tewari said notwithstanding the surveys, the results of the general elections will show "with the blessings of god and the support of the people that those who have given prime ministers to this country will again be in power, and those who have given PM candidates will be in the opposition".

Some of the opinion poll results published in the past few days have shown the BJP netting close to 200 seats and the Congress barely notching 100.

In a warning to the media, Tewari said if "fascist forces are allowed to become strong, then the media will be the foremost to suffer".

Trashing Modi's Gujarat model of growth, he said the reality is that it is only meant for a handful of millionaires. The "reality is that five crore Gujaratis have been left behind and only five or six millionaries are reaping the benefits".

To a question, he said the Congress party is in the process of drawing up the party manifesto for the polls.

Tewari dismissed the talk of the Congress doing poorly and said it is "very much part of the game". "A lot of people have been writing us off, but we are in the habit of bouncing back," said the minister, who has been named a party spokesperson again.