Narendra Modi is closing his eyes, resorting to lies: Sonia Gandhi

Slamming Narendra Modi over his attack on the Congress leadership, Sonia Gandhi today accused him of "closing eyes and resorting to lies" to negate the development carried out during 15 years of her party' rule in Delhi.

Lauding Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit's tenure, she also projected the state as a model of development, accusing the opposition of "knowingly ignoring" the development carried out in Delhi.

Gandhi, however, did not name either Modi or BJP, which she referred to as "our main opposition party".

In her twelve-minutes-long speech in chaste Hindi laced with sarcasm and liberal use of maxims popular in north India, she cautioned the people against those who were trying to "mislead" them in their "sole pursuit of power".

Gandhi's public rally at DDA ground in Shastri Park falling in North East Delhi Parliamentary Constituency represented by PCC chief J P Agrawal, took place a day after Modi's election meeting in Dwarka in which he had attacked Dikshit, accusing her for failing to provide even basic amenties to the people.

He had said that even small states and cities were better off than the national capital. The BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate had also slammed Congress for its "arrogance" and "born to rule" mindset, attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and Dikshit.

Rejecting the remarks, Sonia Gandhi said, "I am also a resident of Delhi. All of us are witness to the development that has happened in Delhi in last 15 years. There is a maxim that what is visible to open eyes does not need any proof (Haanth Kangan to Arsi Kya).

"But it's a different matter if somebody closes the eyes knowingly with a design and resorts to lies." Dismissing Modi and BJP's criticism of the Congress leadership, the party President sought to strike an emotion chord, reminding people of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

"The opposition has always done the same since Independence, resorting to baseless allegations. Did they spare Mahatma Gandhi. No they did not. Did they spare Jawaharlal Nehru, who was a great freedom fighter...? Did they spare Indira Gandhi, who worked relentlessly for the poor, the minorities...with a special affection for them in her heart.

"It was this sentiment for the country due to which Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives. How will they spare us, Manmohan Singh and Shiela Dikshit, when they did not spare those who built our nation," Gandhi said.