Narendra Modi sets off poll campaign, targets Congress

Launching a month-long campaign in poll-bound Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused Congress of ‘misusing’ the CBI to target him and also demanded that the Prime Minister face a SIT probe in the coal block allocation scam.

Seeking a fourth term in office, the BJP stalwart also slammed the Congress for ‘attacking the constitutional authorities’, accusing it of whipping up an atmosphere of anger against the Government auditor CAG like it did against the Supreme Court in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

Signalling that he would fight the coming polls on the plank of ‘injustice meted out to Gujarat’, Modi struck an aggressive tone to kickstart his 2012 month-long campaign through Swami Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra from the holy town of Becharaji in Mehsana.

He appealed to people to work towards ‘Congress-free Gujarat’ on the lines of ‘gutka-free Gujarat’ to wipe out ‘cancer’. Assembly elections in the state are due in December this year.

‘I have faced multiple probes, now let the Prime Minister face a SIT probe on coal block allocations,’ he said, adding ‘To corner me, they form an SIT whenever they want to.’ ‘I appeal to him(Manmohan Singh) and Congress to come forward and have a competition in facing probes,’ Modi said adding, ‘Let us see who has more prowess in facing such probes.’

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed by the Supreme Court to investigate the 2002 post-Godhra riot cases. The CBI is also investigating various fake encounter cases in Gujarat. Taking a swipe at Congress, the Chief Minister alleged that the opposition party was not alone in fighting the assembly polls, as the CBI was also with them.

He alleged that the Congress had a habit of targeting constitutional authorities by creating an atmosphere of anger against the institutions that did not toe its line.

‘On the one hand they(Congress) praise the Constitution while on the other if anything goes against them, they speak against the authorities. Now, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is their target,’ Modi said.