Modi asks Mulayam-"Why so many riots in UP"

"Congress, SP and BSP are misleading the people by wearing the veil of secularism to conceal their failures," the Gujarat Chief Minister told a massive rally in Lucknow on Sunday

Unleashing a scathing attack on the troika of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday accused them of covering up their failures by creating a hype over "threat to secularism" and said their "extermination" was certain in the upcoming general elections.

"SaBKa vinaash tay hai (their extermination is certain)" he said while accusing the three parties of "divide and rule" and relegating secularism to a mere "election slogan." Secularism for the BJP, he said, was an "article of faith" which placed "India First" and "united people" on the path of development.

Personally directing his attack on SP supremo Muyalam Singh, Mr. Modi said: "There have been 150 riots in the one year rule of your son (UP CM Akhilesh Yadav). In Gujarat, in the last 10 years there have been no riots. You try and compare with us? Our heads bow in shame due to your politics and goondagardi." To correct Mr. Modi, the SP came to power in 2012 making it two years of Mr. Yadav's rule.

"Netaji conceded defeat"

Addressing the last of his party's eight rallies in UP at the massive Ramabai grounds in the State capital, Mr. Modi took the SP chief head on, claiming that Mr. Singh had "conceded defeat" in his address in Allahabad. "Netaji says don't compete on the size of the crowds at the rallies. It means he has already admitted defeat. He is asking me to fight on development issues. I'm glad he has been forced by us to talk about development and leave his old ways. I am in favour of development politics and have been urging political parties to end their votebank politics.

From a stage that adorned a huge poster of Atal Bihari Vajpayee with "272 plus" imprinted on it, the Gujarat Chief Minister evoked the former PM's Lucknow connection.

Continuing his attack on the SP, Mr. Modi said the party was divided into two camps, the "Samajvirodhi Party" (anti-social) and the "Sukhvadi Party," which indulged in fun. "(Ram Manohar) Lohia's soul will not be at rest. He would have been pained by the SP's acts."

Poking fun at the power situation in UP, Mr. Modi said "you have reservation in electricity supply as well, only in Netaji's area."

Alleging that Mr. Singh was spreading lies (on Gujarat's development), he said: "Don't criticise Gujarat, first give an account of your work and progress in UP."

Mr. Modi hit out at the alleged Muslim appeasement policy of the SP and compared the number of applicants for the Hajj pilgrimage in UP and Gujarat saying the minority community was better off in his State.

"Despite only having a quota for 4800 persons, Gujarat receives Hajj 38,000 applications. In UP, which is ten times bigger, there are only 35000 applications. If Muslims were in good shape under you, even they would perform the Hajj."

Mr. Modi also targeted the SP's most prominent Muslim face, Urban Development Minister Azam Khan, mocking him on a recent incident when the State police machinery was set into action to retrieve the Rampur MLA's lost buffaloes. Though he attacked Union Ministers Salman Khurshid and Sri Prakash Jaiswal for corruption allegations against them, Mr. Modi avoided mention of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who flayed the Gujarat development model in his rally in Kanpur.

With the elections coming up, the BJP's chief strategy in UP is the consolidation of the non-Yadav OBC votes. Mr. Modi did not miss out on raking up his own background as an OBC while contending that the coming decade would belong to the "OBCs, Dalits and the suppressed classes."

Along with senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, and Party president Rajnath Singh, Mr. Modi shared the dias with Dalit leader Udit Raj, former Army chief V.K Singh and former RAW chief Satish Tripathi, all of whom joined the party recently.

Kalyan Singh back in BJP

The BJP also formally inducted the posterboy of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Kalyan Singh, who, the BJP chief said would be given "some top responsibilities" and not be restricted to the post of a common worker. There are speculations that the BJP chief could be fielded from Lucknow and Mr. Modi could contest from Varanasi.

Govt trying to change its image anti-corruption bills: Mayawati

The government today left open the possibility of giving effect to Rahul Gandhi's pet six anti-graft legislations through ordinances after the Opposition parties did not agree to extend the current Parliament session.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath responded by stating, "We will discuss the matter" when asked by reporters if the government would take the ordinance route on the bills.

He also indicated that the government would consider what views President Pranab Mukherjee may have in regard to promulgation of ordinances.

"We will discuss the matter.... What are the views of the President.... Because the country needs the anti- corruption legislations which are pending.... But despite all my efforts, the political parties did not agree to extend the session," Kamal Nath said.

Meanwhile, BSP chief Mayawati said, "though we support the bills, they should have come much earlier. Now the government, which itself is involved in corruption, is trying to change its image through the bills".

The extended Winter Session had started on February five.

Nath said that despite his attempts to persuade them, the political parties did not agree to extend to the session.

"They have not agreed despite the fact that these bills have been pending since 2011, 2012, 2013 and have gone through standing committees. It is not that these bills have come in the last two, three months. So, very unhappily, the government has no choice but to adjourn the House sine die," he said.