Cong manifesto a 'bundle of lies': Modi, slams Nitish over vote-bank politics

Image
Press Trust of India Gumla(Jharkhand)/Gaya(Bihar)
Last Updated : Mar 27 2014 | 6:44 PM IST
Narendra Modi today tore into the Congress manifesto, calling it a "bundle of lies" and unkept promises, and also accused the Nitish Kumar government of "nurturing and abetting" terrorism for "vote-bank" politics.
The BJP Prime Ministerial candidate, who addressed three rallies--two in Bihar and one in Jharkhand--also revived the "Jayanthi tax" barb aimed at former Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan to hit out at the UPA government over alleged corruption in giving clearance to power projects.
Chaos broke out at the venue of Modi's rally in Gaya shortly before he was due to address it prompting Police to resort to a mild lathicharge to restore order. A section of the crowd broke the wooden barricades and also barged into the media enclosure while some threw bottles and chappals at the police. The rally, however, continued.
Ahead of Modi's rallies in Bihar, Maoists blew up two mobile towers exploding powerful bombs in two areas of Gaya district raising security concerns.
Modi appealed to Maoists to abjure violence and said it was his dream to see a pen or a plough in the hands of the youths in their ranks and not guns.
"Congress announced its manifesto yesterday which is a bundle of lies. They had announced the same promises in their 2004 and 2009 manifestoes," he said at his rallies.
"For any political party, a manifesto is equal to the Gita, the Bible, the Koran and should not be a document to hoodwink the people,"he said, and accused Congress of not fulfilling its past promises like controlling price rise or ensuring a job to a member of each family.
Turning to the crowd at the Gumla rally, Modi said, "You (people) ask them (Congress) how many points (of the manifesto) they had implemented in the last five years? When did they implement them? And what was the output?
"If you ask these questions you can stop the tradition of announcing untrue manifestoes of political parties."
"I can assure you that corruption can be curbed. But a leader should have guts, a clean conscience and a clear policy," Modi said.
The Gujarat Chief Minister targeted his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar at the rallies in Sasaram and Gaya.
"Log mare to mare unko chinta thi apni kursi ki apne vote bank ki (let the people die he was more concerned for his chair and vote bank politics)," he said.
The holy city of Bodh Gaya, he said, was rocked by serial bomb blasts triggered by terrorists in July last year, but the state government did little to prevent it.
At the rally in Sasaram where outgoing Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is the Congress candidate, Modi blamed the Centre and the Nitish government in Bihar for lack of progress in the state and said development will be fast tracked in the entire eastern region if BJP comes to power. He also accused Meira of doing nothing for development of Sasaram.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Mar 27 2014 | 6:44 PM IST

Next Story