Rs 50,000 crore missing from govt coffers: Modi

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night alleged that a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had found that Rs 50,000 crore was unaccounted for and 'missing from the central government's coffers'.

"The country wants to know from Prime Minster Manmohan Singh about this money that has simply vanished," Modi, who launched the election campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra on Sunday, said.

Training guns on Dr Singh, Modi said the country should know whether the huge sum of "missing money purportedly mentioned in the CAG report was being used for election purposes by the ruling party".

"Daal me kuch kala hai (There is something fishy about this)", he charged. Targeting the prime minister, whom he described as a reputed economist, Modi alleged it was intriguing that the Harshad Mehta stock scam had happened when Singh was the finance minister in the Narsimha Rao government.

"Today, when he is Prime Minister, the Satyam fiasco has surfaced. Why do such things happen when he is at the helm? Is it the result of his economic policies or something else," Modi told the large gathering.

The BJP leader also accused Singh of backtracking on the building of the national road network infrastructure that was started by Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the National Democratic Alliance's rules.

In a scathing attack on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, Modi alleged that it had failed to deliver on all fronts including 'security and development' and had compromised on the fight against terrorism by revoking the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

"The revocation of POTA led to celebrations in Pakistan and agony in Hindustan," he claimed.

Speaking on the Mumbai terror attacks, Modi alleged it was a pity that ministers were making trips to complain to the United States, about the terror attack on Mumbai.

"Terrorism should be retaliated in the same manner. Instead of the US, India should have entered Pakistan to give a befitting reply," he declared.

Modi said the presence of Taliban in Karachi posed a direct threat to Mumbai. He also blamed the Congress government for the Naxalite menace. He charged that the failure of India's foreign policy led to the rise of Maoists in Nepal.

Modi also took on the UPA for its failure to control spiraling prices and unemployment and appealed to the people to vote BJP to power.

At the beginning of his speech, Modi, who is in charge of BJP affairs in Maharashtra, congratulated the Shiv Sena and BJP leaders for keeping the yuti (saffron alliance) intact to fight the elections.

"I am happy that Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's health has stabilised and we have his blessings," he added. BJP leaders Gopinath Munde and Nitin Gadkari also addressed the gathering.