Modi blames Cong for India's partition, Chinese aggression

As India gets into the election mode, the war of words is getting bitter day by day with each party hitting out at the other and leaving no stones unturned. Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at the Congress and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blaming them for China forcefully occupying parts of India and for the country's partition.

Also Read: Modi a challenger for Cong, can't ignore him: Chidambaram

"A part of India which went to China happened during your government and that of your predecessors. It would have been good if the Prime Minister had said something about price rise, corruption but he rather chose to speak on History and Geography," Modi said at Kheda in Gujarat on Sunday.

He also took a dig at the Prime Minister and the Congress for serving just one family. He said, "Due to bhakti of one family, many names have not reached future generations due to you. Jawaharlal Nehru got the Bharat Ratna when he was alive, Indira Gandhi she got it when she was alive. But Dr. Ambedkar got it after so many years after his death. Sardar Patel was awarded Bharat Ratna 41 years after his death."

Former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi received Bharat Ratna in 1955 and 1971 respectively. Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee Dr BR Ambedkar received Bharat Ratna in 1990 and former Deputy Prime Minsiter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel recieved the award in 1991.

Claiming that he was not in favour of dividing legacies, he said, "Former President Abdul Kalam Azad was from Congress and we should give him his due respect." Modi also blamed Manmohan Singh for not honouring Mahatma Gandhi and his legacy.

He said, "Mahatma Gandhi did Dandi Yatra in 1930. So many of your leaders including you came thereafter and said the road of Dandi would be a heritage road. You promised to give money too but you did not. Instead you wrote a letter six months ago saying rather that if we can alter it by 30 kms it will be ok. Who is changing geography here?" Modi was speaking at the inauguration of a reliable multi-speciality hospital owned by Muslim trust in Kheda, Gujarat. The move can be seen as an attempt to woo minorities.

Modi took the opportunity to praise Delhi BJP chief ministerial candidate Dr Harsh Vardhan. He praised Vardhan for taking steps to eradicate polio. He said, "Polio affected a lot of people earlier. There was a BJP government in Delhi and Dr Harsh Vardhan started a mission when he was the Health Minister. That mission was adopted by Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government too. In the last seven years we have not seen a single instance of polio in Gujarat." Modi also made a slip-up at the speech.

While slamming the Congress party for not bringing back the ashes of freedom fighter Shyama Krishna Varma from Switzerland, he referred to Shyama Prasad Mookherjee, who founded the Jan Sangh which later became the BJP.

He said, "Who is playing with India's history? Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was a revolutionist. He died in 1930 in London. His last wish was that his ashes should be brought to India after Independence. Jawaharlal Nehru should have sent an emissary to bring the ashes back. Congress governments didn't get them back till 2003. It was I who got the ashes back to India in 2003." Modi later apologised for the mistake.