'Arrogant' Cong does not answer media, Modi counters Sibal

Sibal also challenged the Gujarat Chief Minister to a face-to-face debate on any issue

Narendra Modi today hit back at Union Minister Kapil Sibal for saying that he does not address press conferences to avoid being questioned and said it is the "arrogant" Congress that does not answer media queries.

"You go through the speeches of Congress or UPA leaders in the past two months and you will see they are not talking about what they have done. "The Congress is so arrogant, it does not answer even the media. The Prime Minister is Manmohan Singh and the government is theirs, yet they are seeking answers from Modi. It is your duty to reply to the public," Modi said, addressing a public meeting here.

He was obviously replying to Sibal who, at a press conference in Delhi, said Modi wants a "controlled" environment in which he makes his speeches and does not meet mediapersons to avoid questions. He also challenged the Gujarat Chief Minister to a face-to-face debate on any issue.

"I promise to the people of the nation that, when in 2014, the BJP government is formed, we will give our report to the people every year," he added. He said that in a democracy, "there cannot be a master in Delhi, but only a servant who is answerable to public."

Modi also hit out at Congress, alleging it had targeted him for the past 12 years, and said it was only due to God's grace that he was alive.

He suggested that parameters be set for evaluating the performance of governments in the country as he emphasised that all elected dispensations should be regularly reporting to people on work done.

The BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate promised that a report card would be presented every year to the people of the country if his party were voted to power after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

"I appeal to political pundits and economic analysts to fix parameters to assess the performance of various governments ruled by different parties in the country. If there is a comparative analysis, BJP will come out first," he said.

Modi also targeted Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.