Sonia to address more rallies today, Modi slams PM

New Delhi, Dec 10: Congress President

will address on Monday two more

rallies in Gujarat before the state goes to its first phase of polls on Thursday. Gandhi will be campaigning at Sevalia in Kheda district of central Gujarat and Sidhpur in north Gujarat. Congress General Secretary

will make his maiden appearance in the campaigning for this year's high-profile poll on Tuesday.

Earlier on Sunday, the BJP hit back at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had said during his campaigning in the state that the minorities were feeling "insecure" in the BJP-ruled state. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said the election results will see Congress ending up in the minority.

Saying Singh's visit to Vensada in Gujarat will have little effect on the elections, Hussain said, "... The situation of Congress there will be that it will get seats in minority." Singh had earlier said while addressing a rally that the BJP played divisive politics, which is bad and can never prove beneficial for any political party. He said it is time to liberate Gujarat from negative politics and to ensure that those who play such politics are never allowed to come back to power.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi took on Singh, saying the latter had been given a fitting reply by the Muslim girl who was imprisoned by the Mumbai police recently for posting a facebook comment. Modi said the victim, who left the Congress-ruled Maharashtra with her parents following the incident, felt she was safe in Gujarat.

The Gujarat CM slammed the PM for playing the minority card and indulging in vote-bank politics. This is for the first time that the Congress has brought up the minority issue in the run-up to the big polls. So far, the Congress leadership has deliberately avoided mentioning about minorities in its speeches.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Uma Bharati said the situation in Gujarat was one-sided and the BJP was poised to return to power with a landslide majority.

OneIndia News