Congress president Sonia Gandhi took the poll battle to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) turf, criticising the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government here at a rally on Friday.
 

While BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi turned the heat on the Gandhi family during a meeting in neighbouring Chhattisgarh held around the same time, the Congress president said BJP leaders were greedy for power.

“BJP leaders are daydreaming about power.... They are so engrossed in their greed for power that they are pulling each other down.

“They keep blowing their own trumpet. But stomachs are not filled by promises alone,” the Congress chief said.

She added her party never compromised with principles for the sake of power. “The Congress never makes empty promises. It fulfils what it says and there is no need to be misled by tall promises.”

With the assembly polls in MP slated for November 25, Gandhi criticised the state government over non-performance.

“The BJP government has not allowed the benefits of schemes under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to trickle down,” she said.

Countering Modi’s allegation that the Centre makes false claims of sending huge funds to the states, Gandhi said the people of Madhya Pradesh should ask “where these funds have gone”.

Charging the BJP with misrule in MP in the last ten years, she said the state was lagging in education and health sectors.

“Corruption charges against 13 ministers have been lodged with the Lokayukta. But has any investigation been initiated against them?”

Senior Congress leader Ambika Soni accompanied Gandhi. Others who addressed the rally included Congress general secretary-in-charge of Madhya Pradesh, Mohan Prakash, state Congress president Kantilal Bhuria and party MP Arun Yadav.