Sonia slams BJP for insulting PM,Modi calls Cong old,Singh scared

Star campaigners of the Congress and BJP today attacked each other with Sonia Gandhi telling the BJP that its criticism of Manmohan Singh....

Star campaigners of the Congress and BJP today attacked each other with Sonia Gandhi telling the BJP that its criticism of Manmohan Singh as a weak Prime Minister amounted to insulting the country. Narendra Modi hit back, calling the Congress weak and old… a burden on the people which cannot change the fate of the youth and claimed the PM was scared of a TV debate with L K Advani.

Addressing a rally in Varanasi,Gandhi,taking potshots at Advani without naming him,said: Some people have forgotten that the Prime Minister is the leader of the country. Such politicians should be told that insulting the Prime Minister means insulting the country. How can leaders of the BJP point a finger at Manmohan Singh and talk about fighting terrorism? Have they forgotten that their government was in power when the attack on Parliament took place?

Describing Manmohan Singh as a majboot neta (strong leader) who got strength from the developmental works he has done,she said: Majboot neta apne kaamon se banta hai (a leader becomes strong because of the work he has done).

At another rally in Ballia,she said: It was an NDA minister who flew with the terrorists to Kandahar and it was these terrorists who stepped up their attacks against India… Today that Home Minister (Advani) is dreaming to become the Prime Minister. Everyone has the freedom and right to dream. But the dream of the Congress is to see India on the road to development. We see our political success in the success of the youth.

But Narendra Modi,addressing election meetings in Orissa,continued to target the Prime Minister,claiming Singh was scared of a television debate with Advani. There is a minister in his Cabinet who has not attended a single Cabinet meeting. But Manmohan cant sack him as he has no power, Modi said.

The UPA government failed to tackle terrorism due to its weakness and wrong policies which weakened internal security… Congress has not only become weak and old but a burden on the people. An old Congress cannot change the fate of the youth, he said,urging people to vote for a young BJP government.

He said there was no need for a minister to go to the US to seek help after the Mumbai terror attacks: We Indians,particularly our youths,have the guts to save the country from terrorist attacks.

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Modi also warned BJD chief Naveen Patnaik that he would be punished by voters for betraying the BJP in Orissa,likening it to the fate of the erstwhile Chimanbhai Patel government in Gujarat. After he betrayed us,BJP came to power with greater strength in Gujarat on its own. After that,the people of Gujarat have systematically finished the careers of all ministers in the Patel government. Like that,people of Orissa should systematically pick and choose the betrayers and finish them in this election, Modi said.

He said Patnaik was committing one wrong after another. There must be something good in this. Perhaps the soul of Laxmanananda Saraswati (the slain VHP leader) is making him do all wrong things. The soul of Laxmanananda will ensure that the Patnaik government is finished in this election, he said.

He claimed that during the NIC meeting in Delhi last year,Patnaik was disturbed over criticism of Orissa over the Kandhamal violence. He told me,see Modiji,how these people are criticising Orissa. I told him to stand up and reply to the criticism. But he was too weak to reply. One needs guts to fight back, Modi said.