BJP threatened by heavy voter turnout: Sonia

Claiming that the heavy turnout in the first phase of polling in Gujarat has threatened the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday hit back at the party's anti-terror plank by reminding the people of the Kandahar plane hijack, when the BJP-led government at the Centre had released terrorists.

"BJP bokhala gayee hai (BJP feels frustrated and threatened). The huge turnout in the first phase of polls has made it impatient," Gandhi said at an election rally.

Responding to BJP's allegation that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was soft on terror, Sonia said, "One should not forget that during the BJP-led government, one of its ministers had gone to Afghanistan to release terrorists."

She said it was Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi who sacrificed their lives fighting terrorism.

She said if the Congress came to power, it would give a report of its performance every year as has been done by the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.

Speaking about farmers' plight, she said the Modi government had filed one lakh cases of electricity theft against them. "Not only that, many farmers have committed suicide," she added.

Sonia lashed out at the state government for not constructing canals to supply water from the Naramada dam. "The height of the dam has increased, but the BJP government has not laid a canal network for the water to reach the fields of farmers," Gandhi said.

"Had they laid the canal network for the Narmada dam on time, irrigation facilities could have been made available to 40 lakh hectares of land," Sonia said.

She alleged the state government's plan to recharge groundwater in the north Gujarat region was embroiled in corruption.

The UPA government has announced packages for helping farmers of the state through which they will get loans at reduced interest rates.

The Congress chief said women were not safe in the state. "That is the reason the party has promised, in its manifesto, that it will increase the number of women in the police force," she added.

She alleged that the BJP government was not doing anything for implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, which has been enforced in others states.