Pawar can talk on cricket but not dying farmers: Modi

Targeting Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar in the farmers' suicide belt of Amravati, Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Agriculture Minister has time to talk on cricket but has been "unable to save" farmers.

He said Pawar has done little to save the farmers in the belt, which has seen a spate of suicides by farmers, and asked the voters to free India and Maharashtra of NCP.

"The Agriculture Minister is from here, yet he is unable to save farmers. He has time to talk on cricket but not for dying farmers. Let us have a NCP free India and Maharashtra," he said addressing an election rally in Amravati in Maharashtra.

Flaying the local body tax, he said, "LBT is nothing but Looto Baato Tax. This tax is ruining the farmers of Maharashtra."

Taking on the Congress, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate said, "In 1857, the call was to free India from British and in 2014 the call is to free India from Congress".

"Be it unemployment or farmers, they are just not bothered. Sadly, these people in Congress do not know what poverty is," he charged.

Once again referring to Rahul Gandhi as 'shahzada', he said, "Does the shahzada know the pain of sleeping without shelter on cold nights."

Pointing to the "CWG and Adarsh scams", he said, "They have looted the country at will. Where will they be after May 16?"

May 16 is the counting day and BJP is hopeful of coming back to power after 10 years.

Referring to the late Shiv Sena chief, Modi said, "Balasaheb Thackeray stays on in our hearts. Let us fulfil his dream of Congress Mukt Maharashtra and India."

Taking a dig at the Congress-led UPA, he said, "Usually there are coalitions to defeat the incumbent government but this is first election where everyone is coming together to stop Modi. They want to do everything to ensure that Modi does not come to power."

Modi also referred to the past survey of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation on Gujarat to attack Rahul Gandhi.   

"RGF has said in its survey that Gujarat is the most developed and progressive state. So are you questioning it (Foundation) in which your mother is chairperson?" Modi asked.

"These elections are a fight for good governance. After 16th May there will be time for good governance."

"Congress had been chasing me in Gujarat, but they miserably failed in all the last three Assembly elections there," Modi said.

Rahul was in Vidarbha, where a large number of farmers have committed suicide, a few days ago. But instead of consoling the families of these farmers, he was "cursing" me, the BJP leader said.

Maharashtra BJP President Davendra Phadanvis and Shiv Sena group leader in State Assembly Subhash Desai and Sena's sitting MP from Amravati, Anandrao Adsul, who is seeking re-election, also addressed the gathering.

This was Modi's second election rally in Vidarbha in just over a week. On March 20, he had addressed a public meeting in Wardha near Nagpur.