Congress failed in Gujarat both in government and opposition: Modi

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said, Congress had not only failed when it was in power in the state, but also in the opposition.

"...the Congress has also failed as an opposition, due to which they will be defeated in the upcoming elections," Modi said, addressing rallies at Rajpipla and Dhundka.

"The role of opposition is important, but there should be no place for negativity in politics. Yet, for the last 12 years, Congress has done only one thing - to use all sorts of abusive terms from the dictionary for Modi," he said.

People of Gujarat would never accept the "negative" politics of Congress, he stated.

"How can those, who cannot even win the trust of their workers, would win the trust of the people of Gujarat?" he said, in a dig at dissidence within Congress.

As to Congress leader Ahmed Patel's assertion that he (Ahmed) was not interested in becoming Gujarat Chief Minister, Modi asked what was the need to say this, and what was the need to come to Gujarat to say this.

"What it means is Congress and all those who have entered the field to make the Congress win, want to make Ahmed Patel the CM, but Congress does not have the courage to tell this to people," Modi said.

Modi had earlier said that Congress should declare that Patel, who is political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, was its candidate for CM's post.