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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, under attack from critics for 2002 riots in Gujarat, on Saturday said the country did not want "poison of communalism" and needed safety and development.
Claiming people were fed up with promises and empty talk, Modi, addressing a rally here, said he had come with the "intent" to deliver.
Targeting Congress, Modi said it had made promises galore but that alone could not bring development or change in the system.
"The country is fed up with promises, what matters is the intent. I have come with the intent. Congress has made scores of promises. But people need development and not division."
Trying to project himself as someone who can usher in development, Modi said people needed opportunities and not opportunism.
"People need skill and not machinations. They need jobs and not politics. They need safety and not the poison of communalism," he said.
Modi asked the gathering to vote for the BJP and its allies in Haryana and shun other parties who spoke about supporting his candidature for the post of the prime minister.
The BJP has aligned with Kuldeep Bishnoi-led Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) in the state while leaders of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) have reportedly made comments in the past saying they could support Modi as prime minister if the need arose.
Minorities 'fearful'
BJP leader and Goa Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza on Saturday said minorities continued to be "apprehensive" about Modi becoming prime minister, even as he billed BJP the "most-secular".
