Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday lashed out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for saying that the Muslims have the first right on the country’s resources.

She alleged that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government has tried to create a rift between religious communities and hurt Hindu sentiments on the Ram Sethu issue. Campaigning for BJP’s candidate, Lt Gen T P S Rawat (retd), in the Pauri Garhwal constituency — that has an upper caste Hindu majority — Sushma Swaraj raised the issue of Muslim appeasement by the Congress.

Predicting Rawat’s victory, Swaraj said the results of the polls will boost the BJP’s prospects in the next Lok Sabha election. She claimed that the party’s victories in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls indicated a trend in favour of the BJP at the national level and the party will make a clean sweep in the Assembly elections to be held in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi.

On the other hand, Uttarakhand Congress chief Yashpal Arya hit back at Uttarakhand Chief Minister Major General B C Khanduri (retd) for accusing the Union Government of discrimination against the state. He alleged that the state government has failed to utilise the funds provided by the Centre. “The state Government has spent only 25 per cent of its budget,” he charged.