Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi launched a direct attack on Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday while he was addressing his first public rally in the Capital ahead of the Assembly elections.
“I sometimes think that in this country, the Delhi Chief Minister has the easiest job,” he said, “She has no other work apart from cutting ribbons. If there are pot holes on the roads, she blames the municipal corporations. If there is a law and order problem, she blames the Centre.” Mr. Modi said that Ms. Dikshit either passes the blame up or down and the Commonwealth Games that took place in Delhi stole the dignity of the nation. “If a country gets the opportunity to host international games it uses the opportunity to brand itself in the world. We could not because of mismanagement. The Commonwealth Games robbed India of its sportsman spirit,” he said.
Further, he slammed the Delhi Government for shortage of electricity and pointed out that even the Prime Minister’s house has a generator.
Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel also attacked Ms. Dikshit on various counts and referred to her as a “grandmother”. He said he had invited her to debate on key issues such as electricity tariffs, the Yamuna and water issues in the Capital. “What the Congress couldn’t do in 15 years we will do in 15 months,” he said.
Speculations on whether Mr. Modi will hint at a chief ministerial candidate ahead of Assembly elections were put to rest when he refrained from naming anyone. Meanwhile, Mr. Goel said he had the opportunity to work with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wished he is given the opportunity to work with Mr. Modi when he becomes the Prime Minister.
In a statement after the rally, Mr. Goel said that the response from the people in Delhi clearly indicated a “strong pro-BJP mood” and people do not want to tolerate “misrule” of Congress anymore.
Published - September 30, 2013 12:25 pm IST
