Modi dares Sonia to name Gujarat Cong CM candidate

Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday dared Congress president Sonia Gandhi to announce her party's Gujarat chief ministerial candidate before visiting the poll-bound state.

Sonia is scheduled to visit Keshod in Jungadh district and Mandvi in South Gujarat on Friday to address poll meetings there.

"It becomes necessary for Sonia to do so after a Gujarat Congress leader (without naming Shankersinh Vaghela) declared today that he (Vaghela) was the captain of the team (Congress)," Modi told a huge public meeting in Makarapura area in Vadodara on Thursday night.

He claimed Sonia has been tense for the last 10 days before her Gujarat trip because she found it difficult to prepare the final draft of her speech fearing that any error could come in for criticism.

The chief minister also advised Sonia and Prime Minster Manmohan Singh to do proper homework before making speeches during their visit to the state where polling is scheduled for December 13 and 17.

He said the Congress spent huge amounts of money on poll advertisements on all television channels well before the announcement of poll dates in the state asking people to "change direction and situation".

He said this poll would definitely change the direction and position of the Congress, as the people of Gujarat who have great vision will not allow the Congress to win the assembly poll.

Modi said Congress is interested in capturing power in Gujarat to loot its treasury after doing so at the Centre through various scams.

Claiming that Gujarat is the only state across the country which is "free from corruption and scams," he appealed to the people to elect him for the third time to place Gujarat on the lines of "developed countries".

"There is no wave, but a 'storm' in Gujarat this time, which would wipe out the Congress from the state," he said.