Madhya Pradesh Elections: Modi dares Congress to declare CM candidate; Rahul Gandhi targets PM on demonetisation

Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi on Friday traded barbs while addressing rallies in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, with the Prime Minister challenging the Congress to declare its chief ministerial candidate, while the opposition party president raking up demonetisation to counter the BJP.  

Addressing a campaign rally in Gwalior, Modi took a dig at the Gandhi, asking how can a party chief, who is unable to decide the CM face, take decisions about the future of the people.

The Congress, which is in opposition in Madhya Pradesh since 2003, has not declared its chief ministerial face to take on BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the state which is going to the polls on November 28.

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"The Congress party in the state speaks in eight different languages in eight regions of the state. Every area has its own leader. You go to one area, they say the leader from there will be the chief minister. They are having eight CM faces....I challenge the party to declare its chief ministerial candidate," Modi said.

"How can a party chief, who cannot even decide who will be the chief minister, decide your future," the prime minister asked.

During the Congress rule, Madhya Pradesh was counted among `BIMARU' states (a group of backward states) while under the BJP it is known as "Maximum Progress" (MP) state, he said, while appealing people to keep the Congress away from power.

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Modi also slammed the Congress while referring to the "bad roads" of Madhya Pradesh during the Digvijaya Singh regime.

 When Digvijay Singh was the chief minister, people came to know that they had reached Madhya Pradesh the moment they entered the state thanks to its pot-holed roads, Modi said.

Speaking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district, Gandhi launched a broadside against the prime minister over demonetisation and accused him of "robbing" the hard-earned money of the poor and giving it to a few rich.

After the note-ban exercise, which had rendered 86 per cent of the total currency in circulation invalid, Modi made honest and hardworking citizens stand in queues outside banks, he said, addressing the rally in.

"He (Modi) allowed the rich like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya (all accused of financial frauds) to flee the country with your money and made you stand in queues outside banks. Time will prove how Modi had robbed you and gave your money to a few rich," he claimed.

Gandhi also claimed demonetisation had helped turn black money into white (legal).

"These days, Modi's speeches don't have any mention of (eradicating) corruption, a tall promise that he had made before coming to power," Gandhi charged.