Modi takes swipe at PM over delay in Games projects

AHMEDABAD - Known for his caustic comments, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Tuesday stating that now even the prime minister has to undertake a mopping mission to get the Commonwealth Games venues ready, but that will not help.

In an apparent comment on Manmohan Singh’s visit to one of the stadia in Delhi to see for himself the preparation for the Games, Modi criticised the Congress-led central government for letting the country down due to corruption in projects for the Oct 3-14 event.

“The works could not be completed in four years with the prime minister searching for excuses to justify the cost escalation from the original Rs.69 crore to Rs.45,000 crore,” he alleged.

“In sharp contrast, the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex was completed in Ahmedabad in 18 months,” he added.

Dedicating of the U.N. Mehta Super Speciality Hospital to the public, Modi dared the “Delhi sultanate” (central government) to compete with Gujarat in the “concern for common health rather than in gathering common wealth”.

“Shed concern about the commonwealth and pay attention to the common man’s health and other pressing issues,” he added.

Modi reiterated his government’s resolve to provide the best possible medical services to the common man at the minimum cost, with qualitative improvement in all the departments of health services in the state.

“No amount of threats from CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) or any other agency could check the soldiers of Gujarat out on a do-or-die mission to take the state to new heights on the world map,” he said.