Match Gujarat’s farm growth: Narendra Modi's challenge to UPA

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday, challenged the Congress-led UPA government to match the state's growth rate in agriculture, even as the Congress accused Modi of wasting public money for political stunts.

Modi was speaking in the temple town of Palitana, where he observed his 32nd one-day fast. He described the 50 years rule of the Congress party as anti-farmer. He challenged the UPA government to match Gujarat's 11% growth rate in agriculture and in implementation of pro-poor programmes.

The chief minister said that Congress leaders made tall promises before the elections, but had failed miserably on all accounts.

"People's problems have multiplied in the Congress rule, while on the other hand, Gujarat government has been able to root out one problem after another from the state in the last ten years," he said, asking the Centre to compete with the state rather than hurling abuses on it.

A steady stream of visitors thronged the fast venue throughout the day, even as a large number of people also fasted with the CM. Modi expressed his gratitude to people for supporting the Sadbhavana mission.

Highlighting the state's achievements on various fronts, Modi said that his government had topped in implementing the Centre's 20-Point Programme for ten consecutive years. He pointed out that none of the top five states in implementation of the programme were Congress-ruled states.

Flanked by a number of state ministers, Modi said that the state government had distributed benefits worth Rs8,000 crore among lakhs of beneficiaries right at their doorstep through Garib Kalyan Melas.

"The Congress resorted to building vote bank, while the state government has built houses for BPL families," he claimed.
The fast at Palitana was the 32nd and penultimate one-day fast of the chief minister. He will observe the final fast at Ambaji on Sunday.