Gogoi calls Modi an 'irresponsible leader'

He said that Modi remembered Assam only because elections are coming

Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi on Monday said his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi was an "irresponsible leader" and worker of RSS whose "ideology of hatred" led to Mahatma Gandhi's death.

"Modi is a dedicated worker of the RSS whose ideology of hatred led to the killing of Mahatma Gandhi. I am a dedicated volunteer of Gandhiji," Gogoi posted on Twitter.

Gogoi's comments came two days after the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Modi addressed a public rally here.

He said Assam got a raw deal at the hands of the central government when BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister.

"I have never seen an irresponsible leader like him (Modi), and he wants to be the prime minister of this country," Gogoi separately told the media.

"Modi is shedding crocodile tears. He remembered Assam only because elections are coming. During Vajpayee's tenure, Assam got nothing," he said.

Gogoi said that as per central government records, his government's spending on development, including education, sports, arts and culture, rural development and public health, was "much higher than Gujarat".

Stating that the number of crimes in Assam was fewer, Gogoi said his state was affected by insurgency, illegal migrants, floods and economic backwardness, "which Gujarat does not have".

He said Assam's economy "was in a bad shape when we took over in 2001".

"There was no money to pay salary to the employees, and law and order was bad. However, the condition is much improved now.

"Compared to these, Gujarat never had such a bad financial position and it was always comfortable since independence," he said.