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Vote bank politics not needed: Modi

Special Correspondent

“Good governance is the key”

MUMBAI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday criticised the Congress for practising divisive ‘vote bank politics.’

Addressing a party felicitation function at Shivaji Park here, he attacked Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the food situation and said she had to answer for the increased price of imported wheat.

Mr. Modi said Indian farmers were being paid less than ‘gora’(white-skinned) farmers and Ms. Gandhi should explain why this was so.

The function signalled the launch of the BJP’s election campaign in the state.

Mr. Modi said there was a ‘vested interest group’ which could not digest his victory and now they were attacking the people of Gujarat for giving him a fresh mandate. He said there was no bigger insult to the voters.

He said there was a feeling that good governance and development did not get you votes. “I have challenged this and I have decided that if you have to change the country’s destiny and give it a bright future then you have to get out of the scheme of playing politics and giving people false promises,” he said.

He said good governance was the key and if you had that then you did not need vote bank politics to win elections.

People want development and their basic needs to be fulfilled. He said soon other parties would also have to focus on delivering on promises. Gujarat has set a new standard for the country in this regard, he added.

He slammed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement that Muslims had the first right to the country’ resources. He said all people were entitled to it. He criticised the “communal budgeting” of the Central government and said the poor were entitled to their share of development, irrespective of community.

He said the Vajpayee government had left the godowns full of food grains but now the country was importing wheat. He also targeted Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and said he should explain why farmers outside the country were getting more money for wheat than the poor Indian farmers.

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