Centre running parallel govts through Raj Bhavans,says Modi

He said his party was pursuing this demand “with a heavy heart and despite deep respect for her,because the interest of Gujarat will remain on top of priorities”. He said it was for the first time in 60 years that Gujarat had “chargesheeted” its Governor.

In his hour-long speech,the CM warned the Congress against taking his modesty as weakness. He said he was silent over the issue since 2009 for the sake of the sanctity of the Governor’s office while the Centre was trying to misuse Raj Bhavan since the time when late Naval Kishore Sharma was Governor.

Praising Sharma,he said the former Governor would not agree on the ‘conspiracy’ thanks to his sense of ‘patriotism,political maturity and legal erudition’.

Modi said that even universities in non-Congress states were turned into political arenas,which was in contrast to the NDA rule when there was no political interference in the states. He said the people would never accept a ‘conspiring’ Congress which would never be able to reach hearts of the people because the Centre under its rule thought of Gujarat as an enemy state. “Does this not call for a fitting reply?” he said.

He said the Centre could not prevent Gujarat from making progress by creating hurdles in its way and by showing a discriminatory attitude to its people in terms of allocations under public distribution system and gas pricing. He said Gujarat was going to develop as a new model of inclusive growth with people power on its side. The economy could not be left to corrupt people any more and that India could not be built by destroying prospects for Gujarat,he added.

Taking a dig at the Congress,which according to him was “rotting fast”,Modi said,“When Manmohan Singh became the PM,he was a good person,we did not say anything against him. But,because of he being with the Congress,he has got spoiled; and if people like Manmohan Singh get spoiled by the rot in Congress,then we need to remove that rot.”

Earlier in the day,BJP national vice-president Parshottam Rupala and state unit president R C Faldu addressed the rally.

CM for inquiry against Vaghela Modi endorsed a suggestion made by BJP national vice-president Parshottam Rupala that an inquiry be launched on charges of corruption that the Congress had made against Shankersinh Vaghela when he was chief minister in 1997.

He wondered that the same Congress that was unabashedly moving with Vaghela now as its star leader,had in the past wanted to withdraw support to his government in 1997 and had met the then Governor with a memorandum seeking dismissal of his government on charges of corruption.