Modi speaks untruth wrapped in oratory, alleges Congress

In a rejoinder to Narendra Modi's charge that Jharkhand has lagged behind Chhattisgarh in progress, Congress on Monday said the BJP's prime ministerial candidate spoke untruth wrapped in oratory.

Jharkhand PCC president Sukdhdeo Bhagat told a press conference Ranchi that Modi made statements on Sunday without realising that it was the "visionless" BJP which laid the foundation for the state 13 years ago.

"Yesterday, Narendra Modi had compared Jharkhand with Chhattisgarh, saying the latter had progressed. He should know that it was the Congress which laid the foundation for Chhattisgarh's progress while the BJP laid it for Jharkhand's," Bhagat said.

"The BJP ruled Jharkhand for 10 years and Narendra Modi should ask former chief minister Arjun Munda about the state's condition," he said.

Modi in his public rally in Ranchi had accused successive governments since Independence of being responsible for the region's comparative backwardness despite being endowed with rich mineral and human resources.

"The BJP-headed governments were at both the Centre and the state when Jharkhand was created on November 15, 2000," Bhagat pointed out.

"Why did they fail to set up a single power plant in the state, failed to implement MoUs signed with industrialists and failed to provide drinking water to the people?"

"That is why BJP's president Rajnath Singh yesterday appealed to the people to vote in the name of Modi as Singh knows that the people would never give their votes to state BJP leaders," Bhagat said, pointing out that Rajnath Singh was the former party in-charge of Jharkhand.

Quoting from a couple of survey reports, the Congress leader alleged that attendance of minority students in Gujarat educational institutions was a mere 32 per cent in the 15-19 age group.

Modi failed to throw light on his vision while speaking on Sunday, Bhagat said, adding the "NaMo mantra would be a flop like India shining in 2009."

"Modi should apologise to the minorities," Bhagat demanded recalling Vajpayee's "Raj Dharma" observations on Gujarat riots.