Sonia attacks Modi, his aide Amit Shah

From B D Narayankar

   Kolar/Mysore, Apr 9 (PTI) A combative Congress President
Sonia Gandhi today trained her guns on Narendra Modi, saying
his "true face" was being covered with a "mask" and took on
his close aide Amit Shah on his "revenge" remark to propagate
BJP's one point agenda to "spread communalism".
   In an apparent reference to 'Snoopgate', where his name
cropped over alleged spying on a young woman by Gujarat police
officers in 2009, Gandhi in election rallies in Karnataka also
alleged that women were being subjected to atrocities in the
state.
   Slamming the Gujarat model of development being touted by
Modi, Gandhi said some people had the habit of projecting
"small things in a big way" as if no good work is happening in
other states.
   In Kolar, she said, "These days you can see all over the
country huge and costly advertisements are being showcased and
an attempt is being made by them to hide the truth."
    "An attempt is being made to cover the true face of one
person with a mask; he is being projected as a cure for all
ills and as a magician for the country," she said, targetting
Modi without naming him.
    Accusing BJP of spreading hatred "between brothers to
cover up their wrongs," the UPA Chairperson said such attempts
were aimed at breaking the social fabric of the society.
   "Congress has been always fighting for maintaining communal
harmony, but BJP has only one agenda to spread communalism
which was exposed in Uttar Pradesh by one of their leader's
statement. Their real face has once again emerged," she said
at her Mysore rally.
   She was apparently referring to Shah who sparked a row with
his comment that the general election, especially in western
UP, is "an election for honour. It is an election to take
revenge for the insult. It an election to teach a lesson to
those who have committed injustice".
   Gandhi said the 2014 elections "will be more important
than before" as it will decide "which type of India we need."
  "On one side Congress believes in democracy, believes in
India's Ganga-Jamuna culture, believes in secular values and
sees all its citizens with equal eyes and binds society and
for such Congress we are seeking vote in this elections,"
Gandhi said.
   On the other side, she said, "....there is BJP which is
asking for vote for one person who doesn't have any belief in
India's Ganga-Jamuna culture."
    Apparently hitting back at Modi who had questioned UPA's
claims on its flagship schemes MNREGA and RTI, Gandhi accused
the opponents of levelling "false" allegations.
    MNREGA had increased the opportunities to work, bringing
a new ray of hope in a worker's life, she said. "Our opponents
who are fully immersed in corruption are levelling false
allegations against us but they will not tell you that to
eradicate corruption RTI was brought by Congress party."
   "We also gave legal protection to whistleblowers," she
said, adding, that seeing all these, BJP could not stomach it.
   In his election rallies in Karnataka yesterday, Modi tore
into MNREGA, alleging it had only "filled the pockets of
Congress" and debunked UPA's much-touted RTI.
     Attacking the Gujarat model, Gandhi alleged poor,
downtrodden and minorities had made enough sacrifices and
children were dying of malnutrition and tribals are facing
problems in leading their daily lives. Farmers' lands were
being forcefully acquired in Gujarat where women also faced
"different types of harassment. This is their true picture."
    "....they don't believe in unity in diversity, they
divide hearts, they make brothers to fight against each other.
Please tell me can you expect nation building from such people
who don't believe in our fundamentals of secular principles?"
she asked.