JD tries its luck in Gujarat

VIJAYNAGAR, Dec 15: Vijaynagar, in tribal Bharuch, appears an unlikely venue for heavyweight politicos on the campaign trail. Nevertheless,...

VIJAYNAGAR, Dec 15: Vijaynagar, in tribal Bharuch, appears an unlikely venue for heavyweight politicos on the campaign trail. Nevertheless, this nondescript village on Sunday saw UF chairman H D Deve Gowda and JD chief Sharad Yadav launching an attempt at increasing their strength in the state — even if it meant only a seat or two at the most.

In Gujarat, the Janata Dal has just one elected representative, MLA Chhotubhai Vasava, who will now contest the Lok Sabha seat from Bharuch, which he had lost.

In spirited speeches addressed to a 40,000-strong crowd, Gowda and Yadav launched blistering attacks on the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, pointing out their `similarities’. “The Congress and the BJP are like the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who fight during the day but cook and eat together at night,” they said; a point they made again at the press conference.

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“Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress inaugurated the shilanyas at Ayodhya and the BJP brought down the Babri mosque,”.

Both swore by the poor, the downtrodden, tribals, and farmers, adding that the Congress and the BJP had only exploited these sections. They reminded the crowd of how the fertilizer subsidy was restored and an extra Rs 2,500 crore earmarked for villages during the Gowda regime.

“I had implemented a scheme to give cheap food to everyone below the poverty line. I wonder why it has not been implemented so far in Gujarat,” the former prime minister said.

“The Congress claim of love and respect for Rajiv Gandhi is hogwash. Sitaram Kesri wants to grab power by raking up every conceivable excuse. You will not find any direct or indirect reference of DMK in any of the 17 volumes of the Jain Commission report. And if they had so much love for Rajiv, they would not have hankered for power before the Lok Sabha was dissolved,” he added.

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“It is not a question of who comes to power at the Centre, but I can say that only the UF can provide a government for the poor,” he declared.