On Narendra Modi's turf, Sonia Gandhi focuses on economic reforms, FDI

Rajkot: Sonia Gandhi made it clear to Narendra  Modi today that the battle for Gujarat might be fought on his turf, but the Congress will not fight it on his terms.

The Congress President neatly side-stepped Narendra Modi's best attempts to provoke her into a direct war of words on the foreign travel issue he raised recently, and instead launched her party's Gujarat election campaign by attacking the Gujarat Chief Minister on the plank he uses most to highlight his achievements - development. She also used her first rally to defend recent reforms, an issue that Mr Modi's BJP worries will allow the Congress to refurbish its political image. (Watch: Sonia Gandhi's speech at Rajkot)

Her Rajkot rally today was the first time that Mrs Gandhi addressed a public gathering after the UPA government her party leads set off on its "reforms-are-back" agenda in the face of much political opposition, and the Congress president launched a strong defence of the government's policies, saying difficult economic conditions the world over necessitated tough decisions in the country. She promised that FDI in retail would help farmers and also justified the recent fuel price hike. "I want to ask, should farmers not get the money for their hardwork? People should get their security needs at a fair and affordable price and FDI will help in this" She also said that the states have the right to reject FDI policy. "Then why all this hungama?" she asked.

"We are facing challenging situations right now. We have to buy 80% of oil from other countries.The UPA government still is making an effort to support people, why can't state governments do the same for people?" she aked, also adding, "In Congress- ruled states, economically weaker sections get three extra LPG cylinders. Why doesn't Gujarat follow that model? Gujarat, Mrs Sonia Gandhi pointed out, has the highest Value Added Tax (VAT).

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She also took on the BJP on corruption, the opposition party's main point of attack on the UPA in recent months. "Yeh log brashtachar ke khilaf nahin, sirf hamare khilaf hain. Ek naya Gujarat banana hai aur banayenge (These people are not against corruption, just against us -the Congress. We have to make a new Gujarat and we will)"

If words were not enough, Mrs Gandhi used some symbolism too to set the tone for an aggressive battle ahead. Her first stop in Rajkot was a Ramakrishna Ashram where she garlanded a statue of Swami Vivekanand; Mr Modi makes no secret of his admiration for the spiritual leader, often quoting him in his Twitter posts and in speeches. He also launched his election campaign last month on Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary.

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At the rally, Mrs Gandhi attacked Mr Modi on development. She said all the areas that his state had done well in, were established in Congress rule. "No one has done as much for the development of Gujarat as the Congress has done," she said,  also lauding farmers, artisans and traders of the Saurashtra region for having worked hard to take the state forward, implying that Mr Modi took credit where it was not due.

She lambasted him for "choosing not to see how far the country has developed, and misleading the people of the state" for "talking only of darkness," and for "unnecessary sloganeering". Mrs Gandhi said, "They (Gujarat government) did not tell you that 50% funds came from the Centre."

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Reacting to the Congress President's Rajkot speech, the BJP said  she was being "economical with the truth.".

"I am really disappointed that Sonia Gandhi who is the president of the congress has given statements like this. Due to political reasons, she is making unwarranted statements, " said BJP's Balbir Punj.  He said Gujarat has had the maximum development and "wherever they (the Congress) rule, the state is doomed."

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Rajkot, in the Saurashtra region, is BJP territory, but the Congress hopes to exploit the fact that it is in this Patel stronghold that BJP rebel Keshubhai Patel has begun his rival political party. The Congress also chose to begin its campaign in Saurashtra, which has a significant 58 of the 182 Gujarat seats, as the region has seen many farmer suicides and expectedly, Mrs Gandhi highlighted that. She said, "Farmers are committing suicides. Why has the Narmada's water has not reached the people in Saurashtra?"

A Sonia Gandhi election rally was also of much interest as five years ago, while campaigning in Gujarat, she had called Mr Modi "a dealer of death (maut ka saudagar)." That, many political analysts say, may have swung the elections in favour of Mr Modi, who, they say, used it to his political advantage. That time Mr Modi had raked up the issue of Mrs Gandhi's foreign origin. In the 2007 elections, he came strongly back to power winning 117 of the 182 seats in the Gujarat Assembly; the Congress won just 59 seats.

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This time, just before Mrs Gandhi's scheduled visit, Mr Modi has accused the Manmohan Singh government of spending crores of public money on her foreign travel. But Sonia Gandhi refused to be drawn into any personal attack or even mention of Mr Modi's comments, merely saying that she had been attacked before and she expected that to continue.

Mr Modi claimed on Monday that the Manmohan Singh government had spent nearly 1900 crores on Mrs Gandhi's foreign trips abroad in the last three years. When that claim rang hollow with an RTI activist said to have gleaned that information denying it, Mr Modi, forced to apologise, also tweaked his attack and asked the Congress why it had not shared details of her trips despite the activist's application for that information.  "I have no question for Mrs Gandhi, but I do for the Manmohan Singh government. How much public money has it spent on her travel?" (After Modi's claim rings hollow, BJP tweaks attack)

Mr Modi says he quoted a local newspaper report to make his claim. The RTI activist says though that he had sought details of Mrs Gandhi's travels, he was yet to get any information on this. Adding a new confused dimension to the Sonia-Modi controversy, both the BJP and the Congress have since referred to the expenses on Mrs Gandhi's trips abroad for medical treatment. That's not what the RTI activist asked for. "We also give good wishes for the health of Sonia Gandhi, but if expenses were paid from the public treasury, please clarify," Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP spokesperson, said. 

In response to another RTI application, the Central Information Commission has clarified that the government has incurred no expenditure on Mrs Gandhi's medical bills. (Read)

The Congress is livid. Party general secretary  Digvijaya Singh said, "As far as Soniaji's trips are concerned, everyone knows about her health issues. His (Modi) comments are reflective of his own character and his party." He added that Mr Modi has been well-trained by his party's parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in "the Nazi tradition of spreading false propaganda."

"Sangh trains it's cadre in disinformation campaign. Obviously Modi has been trained well! Sangh has modelled itself in the Nazi tradition," Mr Singh said on micro-blogging site Twitter.