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Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today questioned the inaction of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the coal block allocation case.
“Had such allegations been leveled against Vasundhara, Narendra Modi, Shivraj Singh or Raman Singh, the CBI would have put us behind bars within minutes. But, CBI is frozen as if it has seen a snake," Modi said in Udaipur.
Modi yet again derided the Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and said his speeches were like television soap operas, aimed at gathering votes.
“In Congress rallies these days, instead of discussing the problems of people, family operas are being played,” Modi said. The rally was also attended former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia. The state has polls scheduled on December 1.
Modi attacked the Centre’s United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and blamed it for price rise. Modi said as compared to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, which was led by the BJP, prices of all commodities had increased.
“Prices of onion have increased by 1,500%, while the production of the commodity has only decreased by five%. This despite that most of the onion comes from the Congress ruled states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka,” Modi said.
Modi’s speech was also targeted at the tribal vote. Modi praised the contribution of tribal leaders in India’s freedom movement. According to the 2001 Census, Rajasthan has a tribal population of over 12%.
Criticising the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Modi said Gandhi should not teach “lessons” on secularism when his own state chief minister had failed to ensure communal harmony in Rajasthan. He said under the Gehlot government, Rajasthan has witnessed 25 communal riots and 80 incidents of rioting. “Gehlot has been criticised by shahzada, Rajasthan’s governor, National Human Rights Commission and the minority commission,” Modi said.
In a reference to Congress’ Rajasthan minister Babulal Nagar, who was on Friday arrested by the CBI for a alleged rape of woman, Modi said, “Will any woman ever dare to go and meet a minister? If no, then how can such a government protect women and girls of our country?”
