Hitting back at Congress president Sonia Gandhi [Images] for her maut ke saudagar remark, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [Images] on Monday said that it was the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre which was the protector of merchant of death.

Modi pointed out that it has been one year since the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence on Afzal Guru, for his involvement in the attack on Parliament, but the Congress has been protecting him.

The chief minister was speaking at a well-attended election rally at Sola Road in Ahmedabad as part of his campaigning for the second phase of polling on December 16.

Modi said he had started his campaign by talking about the development in Gujarat, but after several pre-poll surveys revealed that the Bharatiya Janata Party would retain power, the Congress felt that it won't be able to take on the saffron outfit.

"The Congress does not have the ability to fight the BJP on the issues of development," Modi said, adding that this was the reason for Gandhi to call him "merchant of death".

He asked the people to vote for the BJP if they wanted to keep out Naxals, the mafia and terrorists from the state.