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The Congress versus Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) war of words got fiercer today.
A day after Congress president Sonia and vice president Rahul questioned the Gujarat model of development and said Gujarat CM Narendra Modi would have landed in jail if that state government had put in place an effective Lokayukta and Right to Information Act, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra mocked Narendra Modi for his remark that it needs somebody with a "56 inch chest" to transform Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat.
The BJP in an equally strong riposte released a film and a pamphlet titled “damad shree”, which listed alleged illegal land purchases of Priyanka’s husband Robert Vadra in Haryana and Rajasthan.
The BJP called it the “Vadra model of development”. BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Sonia and Rahul to explain the patronage given to Vadra that helped him convert a Rs 1 lakh investment into a business empire worth Rs 300 crore in a short time.
In Jhansi, Modi likened Rahul to a television comedian and rejected all of Congress vice president's charges against him.
Both sides claimed their attacks on each other were driven by public interest, and not motivated by any personal prejudice. The election discourse between the two parties, particularly their leaders – the Gandhis and Modi – came across as anything but personal.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission, a day after Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s “honeymoon” remark on Rahul as also in the backdrop of Congress questioning Modi for having concealed the fact of his marriage in his previous election affidavits, today issued fresh guidelines advising people from making “malicious” statements about private life of individuals.
The EC warned that those violating the directive would not be allowed to hold meetings/programmes for the duration of the ongoing poll process. It also cautioned people against involving religion or organising congregations, yoga camps in favour of a particular political party or candidate.
In Rae Bareli, Priyanka today suggested that Modi was unfit to run the country and mocked the BJP prime ministerial candidate’s comment at a recent rally in Gorakhpur that it would take a "56-inch chest" to convert UP into Gujarat.
"A 56-inch chest is not needed to run this country; a big heart is needed to run it. To run this country cruel force of power is not needed, but moral strength is needed. It needs an internal strength," Priyanka said while addressing a meeting here. She, hinting at assassinations of her father Rajiv and grandmother Indira, said “such type of strength is needed, which could even sacrifice life to save the culture of the country."
On Saturday, Rahul told a rally in Gujarat that the ‘chowkidar’, that is Modi, would have been in jail if the state government had appointed an effective Lokayukta and implemented the RTI Act. Sonia, at a rally in Punjab on the same day, said: “God save the country from the Gujarat model”.
The BJP, today in Delhi, responded to Gandhi family's criticism of the Gujarat economic model by releasing an eight minute long film and a six-page booklet titled “Damad Shree: the Vadra ‘get rich quick’ model”.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Vadra model of illegal land deas, which had help from Congress governments in Gujarat and Haryana, was a "textbook case of corruption and crony capitalism under state patronage and violated environmental and land laws,” Prasad said. He said the BJP government in Rajasthan was investigating these land deals.
In a reply to Priyanka, Prasad said: “What moral strength was needed to set up such a huge business empire, what kind of large hearted patronage was given to make this business model flourish in such a short time,” Prasad said.
The booklet with charges, many of which had earlier been raised by Aam Aadmi Party, listed several of Vadra’s illegal land dealings which Prasad alleged were helped by Congress governments in Rajasthan and Haryana. He said a key bureaucrat in Haryana who helped with this allegedly illegal land deals was “rewarded” by being made a member of the UPSC.
On his part, Modi told a public rally in Jhansi that he didn’t take Rahul’s allegations seriously. Modi likened Rahul to a popular television comedian Kapil Sharma. Modi rejected Rahul’s charges about Gujarat government having failed to appoint a Lokayukta or implement RTI. He said Rahul needed to do his homework.
There was trouble within the Congress as well. Satyajit Gaekwad, a former Youth Congress president, issued a statement blaming "baseless spin doctors" close to the Gandhi family for Congress’ "failure" to effectively take on Modi. Her termed these Congress leaders “toothless tigers”.
"The so called baseless spin doctors in Congress corridors having close proximity to the high command and all those who enjoyed the power and pompous celebrity status were seen as toothless tigers when it came to fighting the communal forces," Gaekwad said.
