)
Stepping up its attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the Congress on Tuesday accused the Gujarat chief minister of “abuse of authority” and practicing crony capitalism in the state.
Calling into question how detergent company Nirma was allocated 1,000 acres of “reservoir land” at Mahua taluka in Bhavnagar, the Congress asserted Modi and his trusted appointees, including Advocate-General Kamal Trivedi, were routinely violating law and abusing their constitutional positions. Highlighting such instances, the Congress hopes to puncture Modi’s image of being a “good administrator".
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi accused Modi of turning a “blind eye” to the blatant “conflict of interest” by the advocate-general and highlighted how the state lost 98 of the 142 legal cases against Nirma.
Significantly, a private law firm owned by Trivedi’s wife had represented Nirma and Trivedi himself appeared on behalf of the state in 24 cases, losing most of the cases.
Incidentally, Trivedi had been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the Ishrat Jehan fake encounter case. He was caught on tape, along with eight others, allegedly discussing ways to sabotage the probe.
"Modi has created a machinery by subverting the constitutional process to promote crony capitalism," Singhvi said.
Demanding answers from Modi on whether it was “legally tenable” and ethical for an advocate general and his wife to represent the state and the private firm, respectively, and the state exchequer lose money, the Congress stated even in the Ishrat case Modi’s appointees, including several ministers, were abusing their positions.
Questioning how ecologically sensitive land could be allotted to Nirma to set up a cement factory in Bhavnagar, even when the state government had in affidavit assured the court that wetlands and water bodies would not be alienated, Singhvi said, “8,500 acres was allotted of which 700 acres was for limestone quarrying and 1,000 acres for cement factory, this 1,000 acres is reservoir land.”
The Congress has, it appears, taken the lead from Priyanka Gandhi to go on the offensive to counter Modi. Admitting as much, Singhvi said, “As Priyanka Gandhi said the people will test the quality of heart of a person who will rule the country and not the size of his chest.” The Congress does not lose any opportunity of ridiculing Modi’s "56-inch chest" remark.
Priyanka on Tuesday again chided Modi for being as "childish" for taunting her brother Rahul Gandhi as a “specimen”, indicating thereby that the chief minister lacked the stature needed to be a prime minister.
