The BJP would contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on the issue of development, said party leader M. Venkaiah Naidu Thursday, while accusing the Congress of raking up the bogey of secularism to hide its failures of governance.
Talking to media persons here, Naidu rejected Prime Minister Manmohan's criticism of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was a "very popular leader who stands for 3Ds - Decisive, Dynamic and Development oriented".
"These 3Ds are making him the most popular among the people in the country. These 3Ds are missing in the prime minister and his government. People want a decisive, dynamic and development oriented leader and party. That is why they are looking towards the BJP and talking about Narendra Modi," he claimed.
Attacking the government, Naidu said economic growth had slowed down and "there was fiscal deficit, revenue deficit, trade deficit, current account deficit, governance deficit and trust deficit".
He said that for the first time, the external debt has surpassed foreign exchange reserves.
"Per capita debt is more than the per capita income," he said and added that rupee had depreciated to Rs.58-59 against the dollar, while it stood at Rs.40-42 during the rule of the National Democratic Alliance.
Dismissing possibility of a third front government, he said many of its prospective constituents were bitterly opposed to each other in states.
"People want liberation from Congress' misrule and there will be realignment of political forces before and after elections," he said.
Referring to Congress supporting Nitish Kumar government during the trust vote in the Bihar assembly, Naidu said he was unable to understand how Janata Dal-United will be comfortable with the party it has criticised for long.
"The public opinion is going against the JD-U and it is evident from a voter survey," he said.
Accusing Congress of using a "communal approach" and "divisive politics", he said: "Whenever Congress is faced with trouble, imminent defeat, governance failures and corruption issues, they always try to divert attention of the people from the real issues and bring their old raga of secularism versus communalism."
"People are not innocent and are intelligent enough to understand the game plan of the Congress party," he said.
He said BJP governments were doing well in all states and the party will fight the 2014 elections on the issue of development.
"The BJP would like to go to the people on the agenda of development. We will showcase the NDA government's achievements and also the good work done by our governments," he said.
