Rahul Gandhi tears into Modi on Naga pact

New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In an election rally in the poll bound state of Manipur, Rahul accused the Prime Minister of ‘spreading hate and lies’ wherever he went. The Prime Minister had addressed an election rally in the state last Saturday now it was the turn of the Gandhi scion to hit back.

Rahul alleged that everybody apart from the Prime Minister was kept in the dark regarding the Naga Accord. He said, “The Centre has signed the Naga Peace Accord, but nobody knows about its contents. Even Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and the state government are not aware of it. Why are the people of Manipur being kept in the dark about the contents of the agreement?”

The contents of the Naga Peace Accord have been a major issue in the run-up to the coming Manipur Assembly elections with the Congress accusing the BJP of compromising the territorial integrity of the state and the latter denying the allegation.

The Congress has been demanding that contours of the Naga ‘ Framework Agreement’ be made public.

However in his rally last Saturday the Prime Minister allayed the fears of the locals regarding the Naga ‘ Framework Agreement’ and accused the Congress government in the state of spreading false propaganda regarding the agreement. He also added that there is nothing in the agreement which is detrimental to the interests of Manipur.

Responding to the corruption charges against the Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, the Congress Vice President said, “He (Prime Minister) had leveled baseless allegations of corruption against the Okram Ibobi Singh government. He always makes false claims.”

The Congress has been in power in the state since last 15 years the Chief Minister is seeking a fourth consecutive term. In the last assembly elections the Congress got 42 out of the 60 seats in the assembly. The present election is in two phases on March 4 and 8.