Hyderabad sitting on a powder keg, claims Modi

Hyderabad, April 6 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Monday said Hyderabad and its twin city Secunderabad were sitting on a powder keg and that terrorists more dangerous than those in Kashmir reside here.

He alleged that any incident happening in Gujarat or Mumbai would have links with Hyderabad. He was addressing an election meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Nizam College grounds here Monday night.

'I have told police officers of Andhra that Hyderabad and Secunderabad are sitting on a powder keg. Terrorists more dangerous than those in Kashmir live here,' he told the meeting.

Alleging that the Congress government was doing vote bank politics, he said it failed to identify the 'anti-national forces'.

Modi wondered if Maoists, terrorists and Bangladeshi infiltrators will decide the future of the country. He condemned the demand by a central minister that the Bangladeshi infiltrators be given Indian citizenship.

The BJP leader came down heavily on the Congress-led UPA government for its soft approach in tackling terrorism and called upon people to defeat the Congress and its allies.

'We can tackle terrorism and Pakistan by paying back in their own coin. This government can't tackle terrorism. It can't even make a law to fight terror. How can one expect it to raise arms?' he said, ridiculing the government for going to the US to complain against Pakistan after terror attacks in Mumbai.

Terming the Congress as 125-year-old woman, he said she was only a burden on the country. 'Only 30-year-old young BJP can give a bright future to this country.'

The Gujarat chief minister wondered why Congress leaders had lost their sleep over BJP leader L. K. Advani's promise that if voted to power the BJP would bring back 'black money' kept in foreign banks.

He alleged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was silent on a proposal at the recent G20 summit that sanctions should be imposed on the countries not giving details of the secret bank accounts.

Claiming the development achieved by Gujarat was an example, he pointed out that the Gujarat government (state-owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation) found huge gas reserves on the shores of Andhra.

'The Andhra government was sleeping. Now they are requesting me to do something for their face saving,' he said, and assured people of Andhra Pradesh that they had as much right on these natural resources as Gujarat.