Narendra Modi lashes Congress over Muslims

NEW DELHI, Apr 6 (agencies): Hindu hardliner Narendra Modi, front-runner for premier on the eve of the world's biggest election, accused India's ruling Congress party of failing Muslims as his own party battled claims of fuelling religious tensions.
India's marathon nine-phase election kicks off April 7 and ends on May 12 when hundreds of millions will have cast their ballots
Modi, who is tipped to win power on a promise of reviving the country's battered economy and creating jobs, also urged voters to give him a strong mandate during the marathon six-week ballot which starts on Monday.
"The problems that have plagued in you in the past 60 years, I will get rid of all those problems in just 60 months," Modi told thousands of cheering supporters in Bijnor in the battleground state of Uttar Pradesh.
His main rival Rahul Gandhi will take to the stage in New Delhi and neighbouring Haryana state later Sunday to implore voters to stick with Congress, which is tipped to suffer a crushing defeat after a decade in power.
Modi, who is tainted by association with anti-Muslim riots, went on the attack after a row flared over accusations that his right-hand man stoked tensions against Muslims just days before the election starts.
Without referring specifically to the accusations, Modi accused Congress president and Rahul's mother Sonia Gandhi of failing to deliver on pledges to improve the lives of Muslims, who at 13 percent of the population are India's largest religious minority.
The comments came after Modi's close aide Amit Shah reportedly told several Hindu leaders to seek "revenge" at the ballot box. He was speaking in a part of Uttar Pradesh hit by Hindu-Muslim violence last year that left some 50 people dead.
The BJP has said the comments have been taken out of context, while the Election Commission has so far declined to comment.
Voters, worried about the slowing economy and angry about corruption and high inflation under the Congress-led coalition, appear won over by Modi's pledge to attract investment, improve infrastructure and boost manufacturing.
Voting will kick off in the two remote northeastern states of Assam and Tripura, before spreading across the country of 814 million eligible voters in a staggered process. Results are due on May 16.
But in the last days of the campaign a row erupted along religious lines, with Modi's right-hand man accused of stoking tensions against Muslims, who at 13 percent of the population are the country's largest religious minority.
Amit Shah reportedly told Hindu voters to seek "revenge" at the ballot box while speaking in a part of Uttar Pradesh hit by Hindu-Muslim violence last year that left some 50 people dead.
Congress has asked the Election Commission to order Shah's arrest and ban him from campaigning, with a party official accusing Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of making "horrible" statements and "creating animosity between communities."
But Arvind Kejriwal, from the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi or Common Man Party, accused Modi Saturday of "politics of hatred".
The BJP said Shah's comments had been taken out of context and accused Congress of hypocrisy.
Modi, widely tipped in opinion polls to win the elections, has focused his campaign on economic reform and creating jobs, largely steering clear of promoting any Hindu nationalist agenda.