Congress unveils 2014 strategy for Maharashtra, attacks Narendra Modi

Mumbai: The Congress in Maharashtra has unveiled 'Vision 2014', the party's plan for fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state. At an event held in Mumbai, Congress leaders exhorted party workers to present a united front and remove infighting so that the party sends the maxim number of MPs from the state. The flavour of the event were the attacks on Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of neighbouring Gujarat, whom Congress leaders called "pheku" (one who exaggerates) and 'Dariwala' (bearded man). The party also plans to hold 3500 meetings across the state to take its message to the people.

The Congress's Maharashtra-in-charge Mohan Prakash lambasted the Gujarat model saying that things were much better in Maharashtra. He told the gathering of Congress workers across the state that policemen were taking the place of criminals in the jails of Gujarat. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said, "Maharashtra is number 1 when it comes to state GDP. Where is Gujarat?" He added, "Both in the Centre and in Maharashtra the people have voted the Congress back to power after having a bad experience with the BJP."

Congress leaders also attacked the RSS for promoting communalism and stated that till the time the Congress is there in the country it would continue to fight communal forces. Speaking on the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, Mr Chavan said "Pandit Nehru ushered in scientific thought in this country. Narendra Dabholkar was taking that forward. He was murdered just like Mahatma Gandhi was killed in a conspiracy in 1948. All this is being done by a few fundamentalist organisations and we have requested the Centre to ban these groups."

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who was removed after the Adarsh scam, harped on the need to protect bureaucrats to run an efficient government. He said, "If decision making is hampered and it is not benefitting the common man then steps should be taken to protect politicians and bureaucrats in the system. If that is not done, the question arises whether RTI is benefitting the public or is it causing loss? This question is in the minds of political workers today. There is a need to address this issue and facilitate quick decision making."

Ironically Ashok Chavan himself had to quit the Chief Minister's post after the decision to include a civilian quota in the controversial Adarsh Society during his tenure came to light. It was later found that his family members had flats in the building. Ashok Chavan has been trying to make a political comeback since then.