Gujarat Election 2022: Economy climbed up one position under an economist PM but became 5th largest under a chaiwala, says Modi

Gujarat Election 2022: With just two days remaining before Gujarat goes to polls in the first phase, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday escalated his tirade against Congress accusing it of stopping armed forces from acting against terrorism when it was in power due to vote bank politics and took a jibe at former PM Manmohan Singh over the slow pace of economy in ten years of the UPA rule.

Modi said the country's economy climbed up by only one position to reach the tenth spot despite a renowned economist being the PM for ten years but it became the fifth largest in the last eight years under a government led by a "chaiwala".

He also slammed the Congress for its "divide and rule" strategy over the participation of anti-Narmada activist Medha Patkar in Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The prime minister addressed rallies in support of BJP candidates at Palitana, Anjar, Jamnagar, and Rajkot seeking another term for the BJP in his home state where the party has been in power for the last 27 years.

The rally at Rajkot was his last before the December 1 polling for the first phase.

During his rallies, he slammed "urban Naxals", raked up the 2G spectrum scam, and also invoked Gujarati pride saying the people will never forgive those who were walking with a person (read Medha Patkar) who was responsible for stalling the Sardar Sarovar dam project for 40 years.

"Anarchy, terrorism, nepotism and vote bank politics were rampant during the Congress rule. Congress leaders used to remain mum against those who were involved in spreading anarchy and terrorism. People were feeling insecure. Bomb blasts used to kill people in different parts of the country," he said.

The PM also said due to the vote bank-oriented politics, Congress had even "tied the hands of our armed forces".

"Congress created hurdles in their work. You cannot fight terrorism with such an approach. You have to take a tough stand against terrorism and give them a befitting reply," he told a rally in Jamnagar.

The prime minister said his government has taken a tough stand against such activities.

"Nowadays, urban Naxals are planning to enter Gujarat. If they get a chance, they will destroy Gujarat's peace. Please make sure they do not get the chance," he said.

Modi alleged the 2G scam under the UPA-2 regime led to higher Internet charges for the people.

Addressing a rally in Rajkot, the prime minister compared his performance with former PM Manmohan Singh's tenure of ten years.

"Before I assumed the office of the prime minister in 2014, the Congress had been in power for 10 years. When Congress first came to power in 2004, a renowned economist (Manmohan Singh) was our PM and the Indian economy ranked 11th in the world.

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"In the subsequent years, though whatever they did, the Indian economy became the tenth largest. So, it took ten years for India to become number 10 from number 11," said the PM.

Modi said he never claimed to be an economist but he believed in the strength of the citizens of the country.

"You gave reins to a 'chaiwala' (tea seller) in 2014. I never claimed I am an economist. But, I have confidence in the strength of the citizens. In the last eight years, India became the fifth largest economy from the tenth spot (before 2014). "So just compare. Ten years to become number 10 from the 11th rank (during Congress' rule), and eight years to reach the fifth spot from the 10th position (under the BJP government)," he said.

Speaking in Palitana town in Bhavnagar district, Modi said the people of Gujarat have rejected the Congress because the state had suffered a lot due to the party's policy of inciting people of one region or community against another.

The people of Gujarat are not ready to help those who support "elements wanting to break India", he said.

"The Congress's ideology is to divide and rule. Before Gujarat became a separate state, it (Congress) made Gujaratis and Marathis fight against each other. Later, Congress incited people of different castes and communities to fight against each other. Gujarat suffered a lot because of such sins of the Congress," he said.

In a word of advice, Modi said the Congress must shun casteism, communalism, vote bank politics and divide and rule (ideology) to win back the trust of the people of Gujarat because they are not at all ready to help those who support elements wanting to break India.

He said because of the 2G (spectrum allocation) scam, the Internet has become costly.

"Had Congress been in power today, your monthly mobile bill would have been around Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 instead of Rs 300- Rs 400. Today, you can make calls for free," the prime minister said in one of the rallies.

Speaking at Anjar in the Kutch region, Modi accused Congress of being friends with those who had tried hard to stop Narmada waters from reaching the parched region of Kutch.

"The Congress is the enemy of Kutch. Its leaders were friends with those who tried every trick in the book to stop Narmada waters from reaching here. The then Congress government at the Centre had also created hurdles in raising the height of the dam," he alleged.

Polling for 182 Assembly seats in the state will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8.

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