Union minister Anand Sharma terms Modi a 'motormouth'

SHIMLA: Claiming that the current election was a battle between two ideologies, Union commerce minister Anand Sharma on Monday said that BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was "motormouth, snooty and intolerant and had brought political dialogue to its lowest ebb. He said that a controversial person like Modi was being projected as above society and party, which was not in public interest.

Interacting with media persons in Shimla, Anand Sharma said that after filing his nomination papers from Benaras, Modi had said that he was god's chosen one. "If Modi is god's chosen one, then why to have elections? His statement is an insult to the 81 crore voters of the country," he said.

Mounting an attack on Modi, the Union minister said that BJP had double standards as in Gujarat three ministers were convicted while one minister was sentenced to death by court. He said former Karnataka chief minister Yedyyurappa was facing corruption allegations but Modi brought him back to the party.

He said that tall claims were being made about the developmental model of Gujarat, but since Modi came to power, performance of Gujarat had gone down on all fronts. He said that when Modi became the chief minister, Gujarat was ranked sixth among states in power generation but now it ranked tenth. He said that in providing public amenities, Gujarat ranked 14 earlier and now 17.

Anand Sharma said that Gujarat had the lowest monthly per capita income of Rs 2,440, which proved that Gujarat model of development was a big failure. He said that the UPA during its 10 years of rule had brought development in the country and also introduced transparency and accountability.