Modi to target Rahul, raise Hindutva pitch

• Sure of Minority vote loss, BJP to pitch for polarisation
• Parliamentary Board meets on ways to hit election trail
• Party to mount attack on govt over economic downturn in monsoon session

Anita Saluja New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is all set to step up his offensive against Congress scion Rahul Gandhi and raise the pitch on Hindutva, aware that on both the issues, the Congress cannot resist from countering him. Modi, who heads BJP Campaign Committee, wants to be on the political centre stage, whether it is during the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls or during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. At the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting on Thursday, the party decided to hit the election trail by raising the Hindutva agenda and going overboard on the issue of Modi's Hindu Nationalism. Aware that Modi cannot attract the Minorities, the party is prepared for polarization of society, now after getting the nod of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on the issue of raising the pitch on the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. In the Monsoon Session of Parliament, commencing from August 5, the party has decided to target the Government, where it hits the most on the economic slowdown, thus directly targeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the ambitious Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who sees himself as the next Prime Minister of the country, if Rahul Gandhi follows the foot-steps of his mother in declining to head the government. Recent Government decision of raising FDI cap in the Insurance and Telecom sectors was severely criticized by the BJP leadership, which felt that the UPA government should not overrule the suggestions given by Parliament Standing Committee in this regard. In the Insurance sector, the Standing Committee on Finance had recommended retaining the FDI cap at 26 per cent, which the government has raised to 49 per cent. The issues that were identified for the Monsoon Session besides the economic slowdown are the Congress mismanagement during the Uttarakhand floods and Ishrat Jahan case, specially relating to the IB and the CBI slugfest over the issue. Corruption is the other issue, which would be raised in a big way in the session. The BJP, which is gearing itself for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, is all set to announce the responsibilities to be given to the party central leaders. Sources stated that all the senior leaders will be engaged in the poll preparations and will be entrusted with "functional" responsibilities. While some will be given the job of campaign, others will be entrusted with bringing out literature, looking after tours and travels, back-office support, preparing BJP Election Manifesto, etc. Sources stated that some of the leaders were not comfortable with the task of being made the zonal heads of different regions. Instead, they preferred to take overall responsibilities that will connect them to each region. The list finalized at the BJP Parliamentary Board will now get the nod of the RSS before it is declared on Friday.