UPA hides behind veil of secularism when in trouble: Narendra Modi

Zee Media Bureau

Pune: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) poll panel chief Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the UPA government and the Congress, claiming that they had taken the people of the country for granted. Addressing party workers in Pune, the Gujarat Chief Minister said that the dynasty politics of the country had ruined the dreams and aspirations of the common man. Reiterating his slogan of a `Congress-free India`, Modi said that the root cause of the problems was the vote bank politics being played by the Centre. "They feel that they should keep winning elections, indulge in vote bank politics, collect votes and run the country as per their whims and fancies," said BJP poll panel chief. Hitting out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the BJP leader pointed that rupee, which was equivalent to dollar at the time of independence, is falling continuously despite the government being headed by a master economist. He said he failed to understand such economics. Taking a dig at the government over the issue, Modi said that the value of rupee against dollar would "soon reach the age of the Finance Minister". Pointing that the strength of currencies of smaller countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives were not falling, the BJP poll panel chief said, "Till we don`t create a Congress-free India, this country will not be free of problems." He further targeted the political experts and media, saying why they did not question the Congress about its unfulfilled promise of removing poverty, made 35 years ago. Terming it as cheating with the people of the country, Modi said that Congress had lost all "shame" and had "indirectly accepted that they could not eradicate poverty". Without taking the name of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, the BJP leader attacked him, saying he goes to the homes of poor, shares food with them to show the "legacy" of his elders, suggesting they have not been able to eradicate poverty. He said that the government was not giving food to the people, instead it was bringing just laws for them. Attacking the Centre over the Food Security bill, the Gujarat Chief Minister said, "Instead of bringing a good food security bill, they hurried with an ordinance." According to Modi, the Congress hurried with the ordinance as it did not trust its own partners, and neither did it want to share the credit of the Food Security bill with them. "The country doesn`t want more acts, it now wants action," added Modi. Referring to the beheading of Indian soldiers by the Pakistani forces, Modi said that the government was so weak that it could not even stand face-to-face with its neighbour. He further alleged that the UPA was misusing government agencies, and claimed that whenever there was a problem, the Centre wore the mask of secularism.