Bangalore:
Hitting back at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for dubbing the BJP as a "party of thieves", BJP President Rajnath Singh today said his party cannot be called so as it is not in power and it was the Congress which had all the means to loot.
"BJP is a principal opposition and we cannot be thieves. Thieves are those who are in power. They have the means to loot. We are a principal opposition party and we cannot be thieves, instead we are sentinels of government treasury," he told a BJP rally in Bangalore, addressed by party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Mr Gandhi had called the BJP as a "party of thieves" and accused it of "looting natural resources" of Chhattisgarh yesterday.
On Congress president Sonia Gandhi calling Mr Modi '
Maut ka Saudagar', Mr Singh said, "Why you (Sonia) did not call then Gujarat Chief Minister Hitendra Desai '
Maut ka Saudagar' when about 60 dargahs and 27 mosques were burnt down during the 1969 Congress rule?"
He said the Congress has adopted a policy of divide and rule after Independence. "In spite of ruling for 55 years, they have not allowed brotherhood among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, to flourish," he said.
However, the BJP plays politics based on cherished values of humanity, he said. "BJP wants to woo people not by creating a sense of fear but by sense of confidence," he added.
He said India needs a lion-hearted Prime Minister to make the country strong so that no other country sets its eyes on it.
"The lion-hearted Prime Minister is sitting amongst us," he said, referring to Mr Modi.
Mr Singh sought an answer from the Congress for India not developing into a wealthy and strong nation even after ruling the country for 55 years.
"People of this country want an answer from the Congress as to what is the reason that in spite of ruling the country for 55 years, India did not develop into a wealthy and strong nation like Japan? Congress has no answer," he said.