Modi criticises Govt after PM's I-Day speech

Rajkot: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday used his Independence Day address to lash out at the central government, virtually holding it responsible for all the ills plaguing the country while praising his own government for the 'splendid' work done in Gujarat during the last decade.

Modi cut across issues ranging from rising prices of essential commodities, rotting foodgrains in godowns to government funding for 'anti-Gujarat NGOs' and moves for a dialogue with separatists in Jammu and Kashmir and criticized the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, especially Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

On Kashmir, Modi sought to warn the Prime Minister that any offer for a dialogue with separatists couldn’t be initiated without taking the country into confidence. "It is not something that Delhi can do on its own accord. It concerns the interests of 100 crore people and the country has to be taken into confidence before any such move is made," he said.

The chief minister said that terrorism is not something that can be rooted out by mere talks. It needs to be curbed with an iron hand. "After 9/11, the US made the necessary changes in its legal network and took ironclad measures aggressively and thus there has not been a single terrorist incident in that country. A UN report has said that Indian laws are weak in dealing with terror elements but there has been no effort at this end," he added.

On Maoists, Modi said the Prime Minister has been inviting the Left-wing rebels for talks without having any plan of action. "Ministers of the union cabinet function at cross-purposes giving contradictory signals on the issue. The Naxalites (Maoists) have a steady flow of arms and weaponry. Is it difficult to identify the country from where these are being sourced and plug the loopholes? The country cannot be left to the mercy of terrorists. There is an urgent need to forge a national consensus on the issue but nothing beyond pious platitudes emerges from the present prime minister."

Modi pointed out that huge amounts of food grain are rotting while prices are touching the sky and millions continue to suffer and yet the prime minister has not a word to say on this in his address to the nation.

"The prime minister talks of achieving 4 per cent rate of agricultural growth. Between 2001 to 2009, Gujarat has already crossed 9 per cent. Not a month goes without Gujarat bagging an international award for some achievement or the other. We were at the forefront of the struggle for freedom and we are leading the country in governance and development, whether industrial, agricultural, energy or social sector," he added.