Modi hits out at YSR Congress, says mother-son backstabbed Seemandhra (Roundup)

Visakhapatnam/Bheemavaram/Guntur/Nellore/Madanapalle (Andhra Pradesh), May 1 (IANS) BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Thursday targeted the YSR Congress party, warning the people of Seemandhra that if voted to power it will turn the new state into 'scam Andhra'.

Addressing a series of election rallies of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Seemandhra region, Modi lashed out at the YSR Congress and the Congress for "looting" Andhra Pradesh during the last 10 years.

He promised that if voted to power, the NDA would turn Seemandhra into "golden Andhra".

He did not even spare late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekara Reddy, saying that he looted Andhra Pradesh to fill the coffers of the "mother and son" (Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi).

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also raked up corruption cases against YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy and said he has become bold after his release from jail.

"For 10 years, they looted Andhra Pradesh. Will you allow the state to be looted again," he asked the people at the election meeting in Visakhapatnam.

Modi had to cut short his speech as heavy rain disrupted the last meeting in the coastal city.

On a whirlwind campaign tour, the BJP leader addressed five meetings along with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and Telugu actor Pawan Kalyan.

Polling for 175 assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Seemandhra or the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh are scheduled May 7.

Modi said the YSR Congress was not born for any principle and alleged that Jaganmohan Reddy floated the party just for the chief minister's post.

At Bheemavaram, Modi vowed to end criminalisation of politics. He said that if voted to power, he would request the Supreme Court to dispose of all pending criminal cases against parliamentarians within a year.

"After the formation of the new government, I will request the Supreme Court to complete hearing of all cases pending against MPs in one year. Those who are innocent will remain in parliament while the guilty will go to jail," he said.

The BJP leader also said that after disposing of all cases against members of both houses of parliament, cases pending against members of state legislatures would be taken up.

"You are at a critical juncture. You have to decide whether you want golden Andhra or scam Andhra," the BJP leader said.

Modi appealed to people to bring the TDP-BJP alliance led by Chandrababu Naidu to power to turn the region into golden Andhra.

Referring to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the Gujarat chief minister said the mother-son government "backstabbed" Seemandhra and shattered the dreams of the people of the region.

"The Delhi government has orphaned you but I will not abandon you," he assured the people.

Modi said that if voted to power at both the Centre and in the state, the NDA would develop it on par with Gujarat.

"Our dream is to supply water and power to farmers and to provide employment opportunities to youths," he said and promised to set up Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Seemandhra.