Modi hits back at Singh

Ahmedabad, Nov. 10: Narendra Modi today said the Congress was responsible for “changing India’s geography”, hitting back at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his dig at “over-excited” BJP leaders at a meeting in Chhattisgarh.

Yesterday, at a meeting of party workers in Raipur, Singh had said “over-excited BJP leaders (were) changing India’s history and geography”, apparently referring to Modi’s recent speech in Patna.

Modi had claimed erroneously that Alexander was defeated by Biharis, that Taxila was in Bihar and that Chandragupta Maurya was from the Gupta dynasty.

Today, the Gujarat chief minister claimed the Prime Minister had sent him a letter six months ago asking for an alteration to the proposed Dandi March road. “Who is changing the geography now?” Modi asked.

The chief minister, who was in Kheda in central Gujarat, blamed the Congress for the country’s Partition and added that China had snatched India’s land during Congress rule. “China has encroached on many areas that were once considered a part of Indian territory,” he said, holding the party responsible for changing “India’s geography”.

Modi also questioned why the government had delayed conferring the Bharat Ratna on two icons of the freedom movement, B.R. Ambedkar and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.