Kicking off his poll campaign for the 2012 Assembly on Tuesday from temple town of Becharaji in Mehsana, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress party and dared the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to face probe on coal block allocation.
Modi who has been very vocal in criticising Union government, also targeted the Congress for misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its own interest and at its ease and attacking the constitutional authorities. CBI is investigating number of fake police encounter cases in Gujarat.
The Gujarat Chief Minister was speaking at the launch function of the month-long Swami Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra in Becharaji, near Hansalpur where Maruti Suzuki is planning its new manufacturing plant outside Haryana. During this yatra Modi is slated to address 150 public meetings in 182 Assembly constituencies in the state over the next month.
Speaking no the brazen acts of corruption of the Congress, Modi demanded a thorough SIT level probe into the coal block allocations scam under the UPA.
"They form a special investigation team (SIT) to corner me whenever they want to," Modi claimed. "Having faced multiple probes, now let the Prime Minister face one probe on coal block allocations," he added. The SIT Modi was referring to was formed by the Supreme Court of India in 2008 to probe nine most sensitive cases of 2002 religious riots.
Modi further demanded "The Prime Minister should face the investigation by an SIT." He dared the PM and Congress to come forward for a competition in facing probes. "Let us see who has more prowess in facing such probes," Modi added. Blowing the poll bugle Modi has set the pace for the forthcoming assembly election in Gujarat.
Indicating that the coming election was likely to be fought on the plank of "injustice meted out to Gujarat", Modi appealed to the people to work towards 'Congress-free Gujarat' like the 'gutka-free Gujarat' campaign to wipe out "cancer".
Modi also hit out at the Congress-led UPA Government for misusing constitutional bodies for its own interest and its ease. "They (Congress) question any constitutional authority that raises questions on them. They have even questioned the CAG," he said.
Modi alleged that even the CBI is hand-in-glove with the Congress. Modi's attack on CBI comes as the central agency has implicated the Gujarat former Minister of State for Home Amit Shah, former DGP P C Pande and O P Mathur, and IGP Geetha Johri, in Tulsi Prajapati fake encounter case of 2006.
Ridiculing the protest against him by Congress, Modi said that the party should not get restless and let people decide after listening to both the BJP and the Congress. "My Congress friends have said that Modi should be opposed wherever he goes. I would ask the Congress that is this democracy? Do you want that when Sonia (Gandhi) comes there should be a protest? When Manmohan Singh comes there should be a protest? I would tell my Congress friends not to be restless. I would ask them to let people listen to both BJP and Congress and let them decide," he said.
Modi also slammed the Congress for questioning the constitutional authority (CAG) that has questioned the Centre's governance and policies. He emphatically stated that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been a mute spectator, not raising his voice in the past eight years. "It has been eight years and have you ever heard the Prime Minister say what he wants to do for the people," the chief minister said.
The chief minister also stated that there are two 9/11s that have left their mark on history. One was the attack on the Twin Towers that led to killing of many innocent people but there was another 9/11 in 1893 when Swami Vivekananda drew the entire world’s attention towards the cultural might of India when he delivered his speech at the World’s Parliament of Religion in Chicago.
