Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched an all out attack on the erstwhile ruling Congress-NCP combine in Maharashtra over corruption, accusing it of "destroying a whole generation" but refrained from criticising former ally Shiv Sena.
"It was a union where as the clock ticked, the hand polished off everything. Now nothing has been left. Every young person in Maharashtra is under a huge burden of debt because of corruption," he said, while referring to the election symbols of NCP and Congress which ended their 15-year-old alliance just before the elections .
"Nobody benefited from the Congress-NCP government. Farmers, dalits, youth, adivasis, women, villages, towns... none benefited.....A whole generation was destroyed," Modi said addressing his first election rally at Beed, the parliamentary constituency of former Union Minister Gopinath Munde, who died in a car crash earlier this year.
Describing Congress and NCP as two sides of the same coin, he said, "Amitabh hosts Kaun Banega Crorepati. The Maharashtra government used to play Kaun Banega Arabpati everyday" and urged people to vote for BJP to end corruption.
As during his Lok Sabha poll campaign, Modi once again drew comparison between Gujarat and Maharashtra over development.
"Maharashtra is like an elder brother. We (Gujarat and Maharashtra) were together once. You (the people) gave political stability to them (Congress-NCP) but they did not care and now Maharashtra is known for all the wrong reasons.
"I want to take Maharashtra ahead of Gujarat. I want it to be at the top of all states, but for that I need a government from which I can take work," Modi said.
Though he did not even once refer to Shiv Sena, whith which BJP parted ways over seat sharing, in his 25-minute speech, Modi invoked Maratha king Shivaji, the enduring icon of that party.
"This is the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji. His success lay in creating Hindavi Swaraj with the help of small people. People ask me what is my vision. I tell them I am a small man and think small things for small people. These small people have now given me the power to do big things for them while seated in Delhi," he said.
Hitting back at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who attacked his government over inflation and price rise earlier in the day, Modi said, "Those who ruled for 60 years are demanding the account of what my government did in 60 days. Petrol and diesel prices are down. I promise you I will pull the country out of the current mess in 60 months.
