BJP hits out at Rahul for harping on emotional issues

The Bharatiya Janata Party hit back at Rahul Gandhi after he accused the party of sparking communal tensions in the country for political benefits, saying the Congress vice president has no solutions for India`s current problems.

Patna: BJP on Wednesday attacked Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for making an emotional pitch to garner votes and claimed he had been compelled to do so as he had nothing to drive home about UPA government`s performance.

"It is very unfortunate that Rahul has spoken about the assassination of his grandmother and illness of his mother during electioneering and made an emotional appeal to the people to vote for Congress," senior BJP leader Ravishanker Prasad told reporters here. "It`s very mean on the part of the Congress Vice-President to harp on the sacrifices made by his family about which the country already knows," he said, adding the emotional appeal made by Rahul at the same time "explains the fact that he has nothing positive to talk about the performance of UPA government for nearly two terms". "It (Rahul`s speech in Churu, Rajasthan) also explains that your government has nothing to offer as far as the problems of modern India is concerned," the senior BJP leader said. Claiming that the Congress Vice-President`s attempt to woo the electorate on emotional and personal issues will have no bearing on the outcome of the assembly and parliamentary polls, he said "today`s youth is not moved by these emotional things but they are more concerned about their future." Prasad hit out at UPA government for its alleged non-performance during its rule nearing a decade and charged India has suffered and become an insecure place during the tenure of the present dispensation at the Centre. "This government simply has no answers to the sufferings of the people who have been left with tears in their eyes due to rising prices of essential commodities with the onion selling at Rs 100 per kg," the senior BJP leader alleged. Prasad accused UPA government of mismanagement of food economy and said it was the government`s job to manage it whether or not there was a legislation in place. "It requires a good management to bring down food prices, including that of onion," he said. Prasad also charged UPA government with mishandling external security of the country vis-a-vis Pakistan and China "posing serious threat to our borders". "Pakistan has made 30 incursions into India`s territory in Jammu and Kashmir recently and China too poses menacing threat to our borders," he said and questioned UPA government`s policies to secure India`s borders. On the conviction of the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad in the fodder scam, the BJP leader said it was a process well begun in the direction of cleansing politics. Other scams cases like the coal blocks allotment, 2G spectrum, CWG etc, should be tried expeditiously and in the coal block`s allotment, the PMO should be investigated for allotment of a coal block to Hindalco. However, Congress was not willing to go for expeditious trials in scams during UPA rule as it was itself mired in corruption, he alleged.