In Himachal, Modi mocks PM, calls him ‘Maun Mohan’

Training his guns yet again at the prime minister, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Monday called him "Maun (silent) Mohan Singh" who shows no concern over rising prices and the plight of the poor.

"Aaj ki sabse bari Khabar akhbar mein Kaya hai. Apne Moun Mohan Singh ne apana maun tod diya," Modi said, addressing an election rally at Sundernagar. "It is impossible to guess what he thinks about the country's situation."

In his first campaign tour outside Gujarat in quite some time — he stayed away from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand — Modi addressed three impressive rallies in Mandi, Una and Kangra.

Modi attacked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for not dealing with the issues of price rise and poverty. "I would have been happy if Maun Mohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, who were in Himachal for the election campaign, had extended a public apology for having failed to bring down the prices in last 2,000 days," he said.

He hit out at Sonia for criticising Himachal for leaving about Rs 10,500 crore of Central funds unutilised. "Madam Sonia Gandhi, was it your dowry. It was public money indeed, not anyone's personal property," he said.

He warned the UPA government to either find a solution to the "burning issues" facing the country and the "aam aadmi" or resign.

The Congress, Modi alleged, has never cared about the people as is evident from the decision to hike diesel price and limit subsidised LGP.

He also found fault with Sunday's reshuffle of the Cabinet: ministers facing corruption charges, such as Salman Khursheed and Sushilkumar Shinde, were promoted, he said. "There is another minister (Shashi Tharoor) who was dropped after he came under attack for his girlfriend`s role in the Rs 50 crore scam relating to the cricket but he has now come back in the ministry even though those charges still stand," he added.

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