The Congress is answerable to the people of India, but it has failed to deliver on its promises, Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi stated at a public rally here on Friday.
“Once the BJP comes to power, I assure you that we will give accounts for every year,” Mr. Modi said.
“They are running the government for the last nine years, aren’t they answerable to the people about the work they have done and how that has benefited people?” Mr. Modi asked. “What the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) promised to do after 100 days of being elected, they couldn’t do in 100 months. There is no place in Delhi for false promises. They should be taught a lesson,” he said.
Taking a dig at Congress leaders who were demanding him to answer questions about Gujarat, he said, “Manmohan Singh is the Prime Minister, it is his party that is running the government, yet I am being asked questions.”
Attacking the UPA for failing to control rising prices, he said, “When Morarji Desai and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were Prime Ministers, they could rein in rising prices. But with the UPA government, the poor man in India is dying of hunger.”
Mr. Modi said political commentators should devise parameters for comparing different States. “We should know which party of which State did what work. Did the people of the State benefit? Once that is clear, people will undoubtedly vote for the BJP.”
Accusing the Congress of failing to ensure safety for women in the capital, he said, “In spite of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi being women, Delhi is known as the rape capital. People don’t know who to trust anymore.”
He stated that the Congress propagated lies about him even before the Gujarat elections. He said the lies could not stand people’s scrutiny, and the BJP was re-elected.