"Chief Minister Narendra Modi is trying to mislead the people about Congress party's housing scheme by saying it was like a 'Ek Ka Teen offer' (a fraudulent scheme), when his government failed in providing affordable housing to needy in the last ten years," Senior Congress leader Narhari Amin told newsmen, adding that such remarks were derogatory and an insult to women.
"Although, Modi government alloted 105 crore square metres of land to the industrial houses after being voted to power in Gujarat, not a single affordable housing scheme has been launched on around 25 lakh square metre land bank with the Gujarat Housing Board (GHB) in the state," he said.
Given the huge response to the scheme launched by Congress, Modi and his aides have now launched a 'malicious' campaign to 'defame' a national party like ours, Amin alleged.
Gujarat Congress has distributed over 35 lakh forms of the housing scheme, offering 15 lakh houses over the next five years if the party is voted to power in the forthcoming assembly elections.
Highlighting state government's failure to provide low cost housing, Amin said that during Congress rule of 40 years in the state, 1.76 lakh houses were constructed by the GHB for common people.
However, the board turned defunct after BJP came to power in Gujarat and the low cost house construction wing of the government with staff strength of 1,396 in the past having gone down to just 208, he said.
Amin also claimed that the state government has not been able to protect the land bank of GHB from encroachments and whatever low cost housing development has taken place in the state was through centre sponsored schemes.