In Modi company, Naidu calls Manmohan a Sonia tool

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu Wednesday dubbed Prime Minister Mamohan Singh as a "tool" of Congress president Sonia Gandhi while praising BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Speaking at an event here, Naidu shared the stage with Modi as he denounced what he said was a "drama" by the Congress on the ordinance on convicted parliamentarians.

"We saw the drama around the ordinance on convicted lawmakers. They brought the ordinance, then Rahul Gandhi spoke against it," Naidu said.

"Even the prime minister is just a tool in the hands of Sonia Gandhi," he added.

Naidu lauded Modi and the BJP-led NDA government, which the now ailing Atal Bihari Vajpayee headed, for pursuing development work.

"Earlier they used to talk only about Hyderabad. Now everyone talks only about (economic) development in Gujarat."

He praised the NDA government, which his Telugu Desam Party had propped up, for starting the Golden Quadrilateral road project and for creating over six million jobs.

He slammed the Congress for India's economic troubles.

"In its over five decade rule since independence, Congress-led governments failed terribly to improve country's growth, which was reeling at a mere 3-4 percent till 1990.

"It was only during P.V. Narsimha Rao's term when the country's growth improved after he introduced economic reforms."