Modi slams UPA on terror issue

Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, Nov 8 (UNI) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today fired a broadside at the Centre's United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime on the militancy issue saying even Indian Army personnel were now being accused of terrorism.

''That is precisely what the Centre is attempting to do. Is it proper to suspect the officers and men whoe stake their lives for the nation,'' the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) star campaigner said in an oblique reference to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and an Army officer being arrested for the Malegaon serial blasts.

While addressing a poll meeting here for drumming up support for Chief Minister Raman Singh, who is the BJP candidate from Rajnandgaon, Mr Modi alleged that the Centre was levelling the allegations for vote-bank politics.

Pointing out that several states where non-Congress governments came to power never re-elected the Congress, he said that the electorate became tired of the Congress.

''Non-Congress governments are functioning in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and North-Eastern states. Courtesy development and universal welfare, the BJP was voted to power thrice in Gujarat that is discussed as a development model,'' he added.

Holding the UPA regime responsible for the ''unprecedented'' price rise, Mr Modi added that the food-grain stock was abundant during the prime ministership of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee but emptied within a year of his bowing out of office.

''It is ironical that expensive wheat is imported but India's farmers are offered low prices for their produce,'' he added.

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