Gujarat polls: Rahul, Modi taunt each other

Jamnagar/Ahmedabad: Two days ahead of the voting in the first phase of the Gujarat assembly elections, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took potshots at each other. Rahul Gandhi fired the first salvo at a rally in Jamnagar, his first in the state.

"The voice of the common man is not heard in Gujarat. The chief minister wants to listen only to his own voice. He has his own dreams which he thinks of implementing. On the other hand, a true political leader implements dreams of the populace," he said.

"There is no democracy in this land of Mahatma Gandhi. The assembly barely functions for 25 days in a year. Even when it functions, the members of the opposition are thrown out, fearing that they would expose the wrongdoings of the government," Rahul Gandhi said in Jamnagar, 300 km from Ahmedabad, the state's main city adjoining capital Gandhinagar.

"Gujarat does not have a Lokayukta. RTI (Right to Information) applications are not accepted. Because the voice of the people is not heard here," he said.