Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, and said that in the coming years the state under his able leadership will overtake the extent of development in Gujarat.
"It is time to take Chhattisgarh to new heights, and this election will be a foundation for next 100 years for the state. I am sure in the coming years, Chhattisgarh under Raman Singh will overtake Gujarat, and that will be a proud moment for me," he said while addressing a rally here today.
Taking a jibe at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for giving credit to his party in all his speeches on implementing the food security scheme, Modi said that the ambitious programme was first implemented by the BJP government in Chhattisgarh.
"Delhi 'Shehzaada' tries to take credit for Food Security Bill. But food security was first implemented by the BJP government in Chhattisgarh due to Raman Singh," he added.
He further said that BJP veteran and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee created three states without a single drop of blood, and added that Chhattisgarh developed because it was saved from Congress' rule.
"Atal Bihari Vajpayee created three states without a single drop of blood. Uttarakhand, Jharkhand are left behind, but Chhattisgarh developed, because you didn't choose Congress here. It developed because you chose Raman Singh here," he said.
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Raking up the issue of coal blocks allocation scam, Modi targetted the Congress, and said that BJP saved Chhattisgarh from massive corruption.
"Imagine what would have happened if there was Congress-rule in Chhattisgarh. If you hadn't given ten years to Chief Minister Raman Singh, this state would have been in the hands of looters. The Central government ran after coal. Nothing would have been left in this state," he said.
The BJP ruled Chhattisgarh would be the first state to go to polls, in two phases -on November 11 and 19.
Elections to State Assembly in Madhya Pradesh would be held on November 25. Elections to State Assembly in Rajasthan would be held on December 1, while elections to State Assemblies in Delhi and Mizoram would be held on December 4.
