Don’t use ‘lies’, Cong tells Modi

He was responding to Modi daring the Congress to file a case of sedition against him.

On Modi daring the government to hang him by booking him for sedition and referring to Mohd Afzal, Tewari said: “If Narendra Modi wants to equate himself with Mohd Afzal, then Congress has nothing to say.”

Reacting to Modi’s charge that the UPA government was neglecting his state, Tewari said: “He is lying to the people and the BJP central leadership is silent. But such attacks will lead to balkanisation of the country.” Stating that Modi should not take the help of “lies” in politics, he noted that in 2008-9, maximum Central assistance has been given to non-Congress states, including UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and Gujarat.

Tewari quoted a written reply given by the Finance Ministry in Parliament to project that Gujarat got more Central funds under the UPA rule than under the erstwhile NDA regime.

He said that in 2001-2, the Central devolution to Gujarat was to the tune of Rs 2,983 crore, while in 2002-03, the amount went up to Rs 4,351 crore and stood at Rs 3,795 crore in 2003-04.