Unfazed by the Congress attack over the letter row involvinghim, BJP President Nitin Gadkari today said that even Congress Chief Ministerof Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan and its state chief Manikarao Thakre hadwritten letters in favour of the Goshikhurd project.
"What crime I committed when I wrote a letter (infavour of the Gosikhurd project). Since the project fell in my constituency,people approached me as it was getting delayed.
"Congress state chief Manikrao Thakre also wrote aletter...In my knowledge, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra also wrote aletter... Union Minister Mukul Wasnik (also an MP from Maharashtra) also wroteletter. In fact a large number of MPs and MLas wrote letters for theproject," Gadkari said addressing a national convention of BJP's EconomicCell.
Gadkari's remarks came a day after AICC general secretaryJanardan Dwivedi in a hard-hitting attack questioned his interest in writingthe letter for the project and said that there has to be some relation betweenhim and the contractor of the project. Dwivedi also said that the BJP will digits own grave if Gadkari continues to remain its President.
The BJP chief wondered whether it was a crime on his part toask for early completion of the project.
"Farmers were committing suicide. Had I not saidanything, I would have been accused of remaining silent even when farmers in myconstituency were dying. When I have said something, this is also a problem. Ihave not written one letter but five and will write ten more," he said.
Noting that there are over 300 such contractors inMaharashtra, he said, "Punish, whoever of them had been committing anywrong."
Alluding to the Congress, which has a coalition governmentin Maharashtra, Gadkari said, "You are the ones, who gave the contract,you are the once who delayed the project escalating its cost from Rs 800 croreto Rs 14000 crore. You are the once who dealt in money and now I am beingblamed when I ask for early completion of the project."
Addressing the convention on "Socio-EconomicDevelopment and Allocation of National Resources", Gadkari also also tookat dig at the Congress party without naming it.
"We (BJP) are a democratic party. We are not the partyof mother-son or father son....BJP's purpose is not to make an individual PrimeMinister or Chief Minister," he said.
Laying out the future roadmap for the BJP, he recognized theneed to increase its basic vote share and talked of liberal agenda for theparty with emphasis of "poverty eradication".
"The spirit of the party is the eradication of poverty,increasing employment. The party's spirit is that all are equals and notplaying politics on the basis of caste creed and sex," he said, addingthat the party is also focussed on measures for the development of theminorities.
He said that there is a need to increase the basic voteshare of the BJP by at least 10 percent.
Replying to questions by delegates, the BJP President saidthat his party was against FDI in retail as "it will shut the door onemployment of Indians" but added "broadly we are in favour ofeconomic reforms but it's not that we will support any measure initiated byanybody".
He said that current problems of underdevelopment andunemployment in the country is due to the "sin of wrong policiesimplemented by Congress" and stressed the need to increase the "happyindex" in the country.
"First Jawaharlal Nehru gave the slogan of GaribiHatao, then Indira Gandhi gave the same slogan. Rajiv Gandhi also gave the sameslogan. Now Nehru's great grandson (Rahul Gandhi) is giving the sameslogan," the BJP chief said in a dig at the Congress leadership.
