Reacting sharply to Narendra Modi's barbs on the government over the coal controversy, Congress on Tuesday sought to turn the table on the Gujarat chief minister by reminding him of the graft allegations made against his government recently.
"On June 19 this year, a delegation of Congress Members of Parliament had met the Chief Vigilance Commissioner and submitted a 750-page document of 17 scams estimated to be of worth Rs 1.17 lakh crore in Gujarat. I want to ask the Gujarat chief minister whether he is ready for a SIT probe in these allegations. Is this the Gujarat model which he is boasting of," said party spokesperson Manish Tewari.
Tewari's comments came in response to media queries on Modi's remarks in Mehsana, where he asked the prime minister to face a probe by the Special Investigation Team in the coal block allocation controversy.
Blaming the United Progressive Alliance government for the current economic situation, Modi earlier said the prime minister should follow the Gujarat model of development.
The Gujarat chief minister also accused the Congress of "misusing" the Central Bureau of Investigation to target him.
Tewari also reminded Modi about the post-Godhra riots, saying, "He is the same chief minister about whom the Supreme Court was compelled to comment that Nero was fiddling when Rome burnt."
"There is one real Gujarat, which people of the state are bearing with. There is another, which is a falsehood that the Gujarat chief minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party are serving to people. Had everything been so good in Gujarat, why would former BJP chief minister Keshubhai Patel have been opposing Modi? Patel says there is dictatorship in Gujarat and nobody can air his views freely there," Tewari said.
To a question on whether Rahul Gandhi will campaign in Gujarat like he did in Uttar Pradesh, Tewari said the election in every state is fought on the basis of local issues and all senior leaders, who are given the responsibility to campaign there, will do so.
"The Gujarat Congress is ready for the electoral fight in the state. This imaginary picture is being projected by Modi just to hide his shortcomings," he said.
