Cong sacrificing nation's interests for Gandhi family: Modi

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Press Trust of India New Delhi
Last Updated : Mar 03 2013 | 4:40 PM IST
Launching a stinging attack on the Congress, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today accused it of sacrificing the nation's interest for the Gandhi family for which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been appointed a "night watchman".
Modi, who grabbed the limelight at the BJP conclave here amid growing clamour to make him the party's Prime Ministerial candidate, tore into the Congress saying its "commission- seeeking" government at the Centre is destroying the nation like a termite.
The Congress tradition has been to sacrifice the nation's interest for the sake of one family, he said.
Without naming the Prime Minister, he said the Congress appointed a "night watchman" to keep the seat warm for the Gandhi family.
Modi, who was scheduled to speak on good governance in Gujarat, used the forum in his one-hour speech to lambast the UPA government and the Congress on corruption, security and governance issues.
"Congress is destroying this country like termites. It is very difficult to deal with termites - you finish them in one place and they rise in another. The only medicine for this ailment is sweat of the BJP worker. Only this sweat can free this nation from the termite that is the Congress," Modi said in his speech, amid applause from the gathering.
In what sounded virtually like an election speech in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Modi said the time has come to throw out the Congress and bring in a government that is sensitive towards the sufferings of the people.
Attacking the Congress for scams like the VVIP helicopter deal and 2G spectrum, Modi said, "The time has come to draw a comparison between the Congress and the BJP. While BJP is for a mission, Congress is for commission. The contest will be between mission and commission."
Modi's address stood out in sharp contrast to that of his Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh counterparts Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh who stuck to highlighting achievements of their governments.
The Talkatora Indoor Stadium was jam-packed when Modi delivered his speech.
Seeking to play down the issue of who will be the party's Prime Ministerial candidate, he said, "Who is the individual, who is the leader, does not matter in the BJP. The aim is important. We have no right to disappoint the people.
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First Published: Mar 03 2013 | 4:40 PM IST

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