Modi holds monopoly over lying: Keshubhai

Ahmedabad: Continuing his campaign against the Gujarat Chief Minister, disgruntled BJP leader Keshubhai Patel on Sunday alleged that Narendra Modi holds "monopoly over lying" and questioned his motive behind the Sadbhavna Mission.

"One person has a monopoly over lying to people and misguiding them and you know this person very well," said Keshubhai, addressing a public meeting called by Gujarat unit of 'Total System Change Forum' here on Sunday.

"Modi is telling you that he brought Narmada water, but that is a lie, he is claiming to provide housing as if in past 45 years no government had built a single house," Patel said.

Keshubhai Patel on Sunday alleged that Narendra Modi holds \"monopoly over lying\" and questioned his motive behind the Sadbhavna Mission.

Terming Modi's Sadbhavna Mission as a personal poll gimmick, Patel said, "Modi's new-found 'Sadbhavna' (goodwill) is not for the common people, otherwise we would have heard this word in 2002 (when large-scale communal riots took place in the state) also."

"Good governance is based on love and fearlessness, but unfortunately today 'love' is missing in Gujarat and people are in a state of fear," he said.

For the last few months, Patel, a former chief minister, has come out openly against Modi. He has refused to renew his active membership of BJP, and is planning to form a third front for the coming Assembly elections.

Alleging widespread corruption and use of black money, Keshubhai said that "unless we change the present administration there are chances of social break-down in the state".

Terming Modi government as government for the industrialists, Patel alleged that in the past eight years it had given away village grazing lands to industries and 6,000 farmers have committed suicides".

"Modi has policy of keeping people involved in festivals so that they don't have time to see the deteriorating governance," said another former Chief Minister, Suresh Mehta, who is supporting Keshubhai, on this occasion.

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