Congress is against development, says Jaitley ahead of Gujarat elections

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], Sep 19 )ANI): Ahead of the Assembly elections in Gujarat, Bharatiya Janata Party's election-in charge for Gujarat Arun Jaitley trained his guns against Congress and said that the party doesn't manage to win in the state because of the party's aversion to development.

"For the last 3 elections, our main agenda has been development. This time, the inauguration of the Narmada Dam and the foundation of the Bullet Train, is a step in this direction. But, a third thing has come in front and it is that Congress is against development," he said while alluding \ to the opposition's jibes at the bullet train and Narmada Dam.

He added, "The Congress never did anything for the poor. Modi's biggest achievement is that he has managed to connect the BJP to the poor."

He also took a jibe at the number of cases of corruption against the Congress.

"We did not have a lot of work when we were in the opposition because something or the other used to come up in the papers every other day. The Congress should understand that the government which works with honesty; the government that develops and the one which helps the poor is the one which the public often chooses," he said.

Jaitley also criticised the way Congress handled internal and sensitive international issues in the past and praised Prime Minister Modi for his ability to handle such sensitive issues.

"We never made a big issue out of Doklam like them. The Prime Minister did a fantastic job. He found the solution with such ability. He turned a crisis into a solution," he said.

Speaking about the army, he said," Until some time ago we used to imagine if our army can attack terrorist camps. But, the surgical strikes last September proved that we are capable of doing it."

He also referred to the Kashmir situation.

"We have been able to tackle terrorists and separatists in the valley for some time now. Before this, the Congress used to speak about Kashmir in America instead of Pakistan," he said.

While speaking on the recent Rohingya issue, Jaitley said that Congress sees Rohingya as a vote-bank, which is why they are advocating their entry in the country.

"All these things (referring to Rohingya refugees) depend on the internal security and population control of a country. Internal Security and vote-bank are two very different things," he said.

Jaitley also said that the BJP is winning in all the states because the people have accepted the party all over the country.

He also said that since the state and central government is helmed by BJP, the party would emerge victorious this year as well.

Jaitley and Nirmala Sitharaman visited Gujarat for the first time after their appointment as in-charge and co-in charge last month. (ANI)