Accusing the Congress party of forging ties with Naxals to remain in power in Chhattisgarh before 2003, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Friday said the BJP government in the state had succeeded in containing the Maoist menace.
Addressing a tribal convention at Narharpur in the insurgency-hit Kanker district, Shah challenged the Opposition for an open debate on its development track record.
At the convention which marked the conclusion of the Atal Vikas Yatra campaign launched by Chief Minister Raman Singh to highlight the achievements of his 15-year rule, the BJP president said, “Entire Chhattisgarh is gradually getting rid of Naxalism and heading on the path of development.”
Shah further targeted the Congress ahead of the state Assembly polls over various issues and said, "Chhattisgarh once reverberated with the sound of bullets.... I have no hesitation in saying that the earlier Congress government (before the BJP came to power in the state in 2003) had forged ties with Naxals to stay in power. We broke that nexus and cracked down on Naxals.”
When Chhattisgarh came into existence, it was dubbed as one of the "Bimaru" (backward/sick) states and despite being in power for the initial three years, the Congress did nothing to boost its economic growth, he alleged.
"Atalji (then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) founded the state and Raman Singh developed it," he said.
Commenting on the 24-hour power supply, road connectivity in the interior villages, purchase of forest produce at a minimum support price and other development works, the BJP president termed those as Singh's achievements in the last 15 years.
He attacked the Congress over a scandal triggered by the circulation of a "sex CD", purportedly featuring state Public Works Department Minister Rajesh Munat.
"The BJP will be contesting the polls under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Singh, but I want to ask Congress president Rahul Baba (Rahul Gandhi), who will lead the Congress? Will it be those who shamefully manufacture fake CDs for character assassination?" Shah asked.
Shah further challenged the Congress for a debate on the work done during Modi's four-year rule and Raman Singh's 15-year tenure as against the opposition party's "55-year rule".
"People have two options in the coming polls. The first is the Congress which only talked about 'garibi hatao' (remove poverty) but removed the poor instead, while the other is the BJP, which, without raising slogans, ensured power supply to every house, provided houses for all, built toilets and gave bonus to the Tendu leave collectors," Shah said.
The Assembly polls in the state are scheduled to be held later this year.
