With less than 10 days remaining for the first phase of the Assembly election in Gujarat, campaigning is heating up in the State. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attacked the Congress for allowing Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar to join the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of allowing those responsible for the Morbi bridge collapse escape punishment.
Addressing rallies in Saurashtra and south Gujarat, Mr. Modi dared the Congress to “talk about development and performance” rather than trying to show him his aukat (pedigree). He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra was a “march to grab power”.
“You have called me low caste, maut ka saudagar and a worm and now you want to show me my aukat. I am a servant of people coming from an ordinary family,” Mr. Modi said, referring to the past comments by Congress leaders.
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“Talk about Gujarat and development and performance. I agree that you are royal family while I am from ordinary family,” he said.
Addressing a rally in Surat rural, Mr. Gandhi accused the ruling party in the State of not taking action against the real culprits behind the suspension bridge collapse in Morbi town in October that left 141 people dead. The Congress leader also accused the BJP of drawing up plans to displace adivasis (tribals) by handing over forests to industrialists.
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Mr. Gandhi, who has taken a break from the Bharat Jodo Yatra to campaign in the State, said, “They (BJP) want you to live in the jungles, but do not stop there. After that, they start taking away the jungles from you. If it continues like this, then in another five to 10 years, all the jungles will be in the hands of two or three industrialists, and you will have no place to live, get no education, health and job.”
In rallies in Rajkot and south Gujarat, Mr. Gandhi spoke about the rural employment guarantee law enacted by the UPA government, forest rights law and right to food and how the Congress government had ushered in a rights-based approach in governance. “Let me tell you that they worked to weaken important legislations like the PESA Act (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, the Land Acquisition Act and Forest Rights Act, among others after coming to power,” Mr. Gandhi said.
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The Prime Minister in his poll speeches spoke about the benefits Narmada water has brought to the parched districts of Saurashtra. He also spoke about 24-hour power supply in villages, subsidised urea and fertilizers provided by the government to farmers and other schemes. He said the BJP government had worked for the people of the State.
Mr. Modi asked the Congress party why activists like Medha Patkar were allowed to join the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Without naming Rahul Gandhi or the yatra, Mr. Modi said, “Those who have been thrown out of power have started a yatra to return to power.”
He said that the people taking part in the yatra “don’t even know how cotton and groundnut are grown in the farm”.
The State will go to the polls in two phases on December 1 and 5 for 89 and 93 seats, respectively. The counting of votes will take place on December 8 along with Himachal Pradesh.
