Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday questioned the internal democracy in the Congress after its leader Shehzad Poonawalla called the party’s upcoming election of its president "rigged". Riding on the back of Moody's upgrading India's sovereign rating, rise in GDP rate and the country climbing 30 places on World Bank's ease of doing business index, the Prime Minister also hit out at his predecessor Manmohan Singh and former finance minister P Chidambaram, claiming “rather than Harvard (degrees), hard work gives better results and benefits the country”. He also attacked Congress leaders over their criticism of the Ahmedbad-Mumbai bullet train project. Rejoining BJP’s poll campaign ahead of the first phase of the Assembly elections for 89 seats on December 9, the PM held three public meetings targeting 14 seats in Bharuch, Surendranagar and Rajkot districts. “A youth named Shehzad Poonawalla called the process to elect the Congress president as rigged. he said democratic values in this election have been torn apart in public view,” the PM said in Surendranagar. “The Congress issued a fatwa that Poonawalla should be boycotted on all WhatsApp groups. Such a party that talks about tolerance, democracy. We have this saying that if democracy is not in the house how can they accept it in the country.” He then went on to allege that this has been a practice within the Congress. “Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel got more votes than Jawharlal Nehru when the Congress party had (then) met to decide who will be the prime minster of the country. But that the election was rigged and Nehru won,” he alleged. He also cited the emergency imposed by former PM Indira Gandhi. He also referred to a “prediction” he had made in a poll meeting at Navsari recently. "A few days ago in Navsari, I had said there are three polls results of which are certain — the Uttar Pradesh elections, the Gujarat polls where I said the BJP will win, and the Congress president election where one family will win. We saw what happened in UP.” The BJP has won big in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls, while the Congress’s performance was not noteworthy. “Similarly, Gujarat’s prediction will be 1000 per cent correct,” he said. Modi accused the Congress of seeking to divide the people on caste and religious lines.“While you were fighting with each other, the Congress perpetuated its rule. They keep you busy in fighting with each other. You may die but the Congress will eat malai (cream).” Referring to a past incident when the Kshatriyas and the Patidars came together to “uproot the Congress”, Modi said. “After Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's demise there were leaders like Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad (the erstwhile Vadodara scion) and Bhaikaka in 1965-66. Once there was a sabha in my village of these two leaders. They defined swatantrata parv as the unification of the Kshatriyas and the Patidars . when both these communities came together, shoulder to shoulder, that was when the Congress was uprooted. To come back to power, the Congress had to sweat it out, then the Congress realised that if these two communities get together then they will be finished.” Earlier at Amod in Bharuch, the PM attacked his predecessor Manmohan Singh over his criticism of the bullet train project. “Dr Manmohan Singhji, your government had made an announcement before 2012(Gujarat Assembly) elections from Delhi about bullet train, but your talks with Japan did not go down well as the loan Japan was offering we could not afford,” he said. But, Modi said, his government negotiated the loan at a “very low interest rate” and the work on the bullet train has started. The PM said: “My problem is, you can oppose the BJP, but why stoop to such a low level that you are opposing development of the country.” While, Singh had termed the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project an “exercise in vanity” and among the NDA government’s “misplaced priorities”, former finance minister P Chidambaram stated “it will be like demonetisation” and “will kill everything else including railway safety”. In Rajkot, Modi said: “This country has seen many prime ministers. And, there used to be prime ministers who held big degrees. finance minister from Harvard. But, we are straightforward, one who believes in hard work.” Modi claimed that a survey had found his present NDA government is the most trusted in the entire world. “Recently, an American firm conducted a survey and came to a conclusion that India is the country where people have most trust in their government,” he said.
