Ahmedabad, 11 December 2012

Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s speech in Gujarat, Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi on Twitter said, “if Rahul Baba is walking on Gandhiji’s path, why is Bapu’s one wish incomplete – to disband Congress after independence?”

Modi further said on Twitter, “Mr. Rahul Gandhi talks of respect for Vidhan Sabha but his own attendance in Lok Sabha between May 2011-May 2012 was 24 our of 85 sittings!”

In his unique style he punctured all the lies spread by Mr. Rahul Gandhi, who campaigned in Gujarat this morning. He pointed out that he addresses more public meetings in one day than what Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Rahul Gandhi have done during the entire campaign. Shri Modi said, “Today Mr. Rahul Gandhi came and said I have a close relation with Mahatma Gandhi. But you were not even born then!” Speaking about Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s anecdote on Mahatma Gandhi sleeping on the floor in Anand Bhawan, Shri Modi declared, “It was Mahatma Gandhi’s greatness and his affection towards Nehru that he slept on the floor but the real issue is Mr. Motilal Nehru sleeping on the bed when his son was in jail!”

Referring to Rahul Gandhi he added, “He said I am walking on Gandhi ji’s path but if he is actually walking on Gandhi ji’s path then one wish of Mahatma Gandhi would not be left incomplete- which was to disband the Congress after Independence.” Shri Modi urged the people of Gujarat to turn this dream of Mahatma Gandhi into reality in Gujarat.

Shri Modi exposed the lack of issues in the Congress campaign. Again referring to Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the Congress bringing mobile phones the Chief Minister asked, “Do the youth want jobs or mobile phones? Do the women want to see prices come down or they want mobile phones? In any case, if half the nation is under darkness under your rule, where will we charge these mobile phones?” Shri Modi said that instead of talking about what the Congress will do for the nation, they are stuck on mobile phones.

Delivering a sharp reply on the Congress General Secretary’s statement that the Vidhan Sabha does not meet for more than 25 days, Shri Modi shared that from May 2011 to May 2012 Shri Rahul Gandhi’s attendance in the Lok Sabha was 24 out of 85 sittings. From 2010 to 2011 it was 19 out of 72 sittings! “If you had respect, you would go for all sittings!” he commented. The Chief Minister stated that if Shri Rahul Gandhi has so much love for the Vidhan Sabha, he should know that in Gujarat the Assembly has debated issues even for days on end but the attitude of the Congress has not been positive. “We discuss issues for many days and bills are passed. But sadly Congress does not respect Vidhan Sabha also!” he commented.

The public meetings were very well attended by people across al age groups and communities of society.

Shri Modi said that if Mr. Rahul Gandhi has so much respect for the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha, he should tell the Gujarat Governor to pass bills that the democratically elected assembly has passed. Be it GUJCOC or a Bill to give equal seats for men and women in local bodies, these crucial bills are pending at the table of the Governor.

On Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s charge about RTI applications, Shri Modi said that the people should ask Mr. Rahul Gandhi about the pending applications in Delhi and pointed out that over 3 lakh RTI applications are pending in Delhi.