Cong goes into poll mode in Gujarat

In her 15-minute speech, Sonia Gandhi highlighted what the Congress did for tribals and backward classes before it lost the reins of government to the BJP.

“BJP ki kathni aur karni mein bahut antar hai. Par ham karke dikhate hain (There is a huge difference in words and action when it comes to BJP. Our work speaks for itself),’’ she said.

She lambasted the government for its inept handling of the riots, but chose not to directly attack Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The ruling political party had brought a bad name to Gujarat, she remarked. She reminded the gathering that her party had in unequivocal terms flayed the Sabarmati train carnage.

‘‘What happened thereafter was equally heinous. If Godhra was a barbaric act, what happened later was also shameful,’’ she said. ‘‘Be it business, trade or education, the state has been pushed back by several years,’’ she said.

Sonia added that the state government made no attempt to stop the riots to divert the people’s attention away from real issues. ‘‘The BJP’s been exposed before the people,” she said.