Virtually stealing the ‘dalit card’ long monopolised by the Congress while attacking its ruling family for non-performance in the past ten years, Narendra Modi continued his election blitzkrieg to thundering ovations from exuberant crowds. Addressing back-to-back meetings in Sasaram and Gaya in Bihar on Thursday afternoon (after speaking to exuberant crowds in Lohardaga and Chatra, Jharkhand, earlier in the day), the BJP’s Prime Ministerial contender sharply criticised the Congress vice president for abruptly changing the party’s Dalit nominee in Vadodra and said, “he was going to fight against me, but his right was stolen. Now I will fight for his rights; that is democracy”.
Standing in the ‘karambhumi’ of Babu Jagjivan Ram, Narendra Modi said that the media had praised the Congress ‘shehzade’ to the skies for the idea of holding primaries in 15 constituencies, where party members would elect the candidate to whom the party nomination would be given. In Vadodara, the person thus selected was changed overnight at the intervention of the top party leadership, and the only reason for this, said the Gujarat leader, was, “woh dalit ma ka beta tha”. This injustice, he charged, is proof of the Congress’s attitude towards dalits. Sasaram being a high profile reserved constituency once held by Babu Jagjivan Ram, the message is bound to reverberate throughout the country and put the Congress on the backfoot.
Lambasting without naming the Congress candidate, Narendra Modi pointed out that Babu Jagjivan Ram left the Congress to go with Jayaprakash Narayan, “but where has his daughter gone?” While ambition for power could be understood, he said, it was unforgivable that that she (Meira Kumar) had done nothing to develop the constituency though she holds such an eminent position (of Speaker, Lok Sabha) in Delhi. It is a classic instance of “diya tale andhera” (darkness below the lamp), he said.
To roars of appreciation from the milling crowds that hung on to every word, he said that sometimes big leaders become a burden on the region and have to be removed, just as a large cloth falling across our nostrils makes it difficult for us to breathe until removed. Expressing shock at the drought-prone region and the difficulties faced by farmers, the BJP veteran said that the Durgavati reservoir project launched in 1975 at an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore was nowhere near completion in 2014 despite a ten-fold escalation in costs, and asked who was responsible for this state of affairs. As the highly interactive gathering responded with chants of ‘Congress, Congress’, he asked them to get rid of the regime. Later at Gaya, Narendra Modi said a dam at Latehar in Jharkhand, also announced in 1975, which would benefit both Bihar and Jharkhand, was stalled in the name of the environment despite Rs 800 crore having been spent from the public exchequer. As a result of such warped thinking, nearly 25 lakh farmers are denied water for irrigation.
Directly addressing the women’s constituency, he pointed out that there was a movement in the area against the sale of alcohol, specifically against illegal thekas and the ruination of the youth due to drinking. Yet, he mused, a woman MP had no time to listen to the people’s problems.
The problem of alcohol, he said, is connected to the large-scale rotting of grains procured from farmers, which instead of feeding the poor and the starving, was deliberately allowed to rot and sold dirt cheap to alcohol manufacturers. That is why the Government callously ignored the Supreme Court when it said that grain should be given to the poor and not allowed to rot on railway platforms. The Congress, he warned, remembers the poor only at election time because otherwise, “this shehzade and madam Sonia ji, inke dil mein ratti bhar bhi dard hota, they would have obeyed the Supreme Court and distributed the grains”. However, they preferred to let it rot for the benefit of alcohol manufacturers. While poor children starve, the Congress president cannot avoid accountability in the matter.
Accusing the Congress-led UPA coalition of the most dismal record of governance in the past ten years, Narendra Modi said that the party has no right to attack opposition parties and should only explain the record of the past decade and explain this to the nation before seeking votes. The Congress manifesto, he mocked, once again promises to reduce prices, “but what did you do in the past five years,” he queried. Informing the people of Bihar that in 2012 he personally explained his Government’s record of achievements in office before seeking a fresh mandate, he said, “I got elected. But Congress leaders are not willing to say a word about the price rise, such is their undemocratic behaviour” he charged.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s proposal to link rivers and save flood-prone and benefit drought-prone regions was the way ahead for the agrarian crisis in the country, he suggested. The hard-working farmer would do the rest to ensure that the granaries were filled. Sasaram was known as the “dhaan ka katora” (rice bowl) of region, he told the gathering with roared with approval, yet the farmer was in difficulty when there was a bumper crop and also when there was drought because of the failure of the Government at the Centre.
Instead of the Centre and States blaming each other for farmers’ problems, the BJP leader said, that the Food Corporation of India should be trifurcated with each wing separately responsible for procurement of grains from the farmers; for storage in warehouses or cold storages; and for sending the grain where it was needed. This alone would fix responsibility for the protection of the grains and prevent losses.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s proposal to link rivers and save flood-prone and benefit drought-prone regions was the way ahead for the agrarian crisis in the country, he suggested. The hard-working farmer would do the rest to ensure that the granaries were filled. Sasaram was known as the “dhaan ka katora” (rice bowl) of region, he told the gathering with roared with approval, yet the farmer was in difficulty when there was a bumper crop and also when there was drought because of the failure of the Government at the Centre.
Instead of the Centre and States blaming each other for farmers’ problems, the BJP leader said, that the Food Corporation of India should be trifurcated with each wing separately responsible for procurement of grains from the farmers; for storage in warehouses or cold storages; and for sending the grain where it was needed. This alone would fix responsibility for the protection of the grains and prevent losses.
The lack of electricity was inexcusable in a region that was once united with Jharkhand and should have benefitted from the coal mines. But corruption had vitiated the mining and so, well into the 21st century, Bihar is in darkness. “Will you continue to accept this situation” he thundered as the people responded “No, no” in unison. The problems were not insurmountable, he said, pointing out that Gujarat had similar problems when he first became the Chief Minister, but the State decided to tackle it head on, with the result that cities and villages alike get round-the-clock electricity. As a result, he quipped, the newspapers make a front page box item when the power fails for a few minutes! But the impact of this development is that today, the villages in Gujarat have small workshops, schools have computers, and doctors are willing to live in the villages because of access to television and the internet. It is now the turn of Bihar and the eastern States as a whole to have a slice of such development, he said.
Continuing the marathon campaign at Gaya, an ebullient Narendra Modi recalled the terrorist attack at Bodh Gaya and berated the State Government not caring about the loss of innocent lives and worrying only “that its vote-bank was not endangered”. This attitude, he lamented, has ruined Bihar and ruined Hindustan. The nation, he said, needs a “terror mukt Bharat”, and asked the crowds if the regimes at the Centre or in the State could achieve this. As the people responded in the negative, he exhorted them to say who could do the needful and they obliged by chanting ‘Modi, Modi”. The terrorism at Bodh Gaya, he said on a more serious note, was a conspiracy to distance India from Buddha-loving nations whose tourist footfalls had declined sharply since the incident, hurting large numbers of citizens in the unorganized sector who supported themselves with the tourist trade. The lesson of this development, he said, is that “Terrorism divides and tourism unites”.
The lack of electricity was inexcusable in a region that was once united with Jharkhand and should have benefitted from the coal mines. But corruption had vitiated the mining and so, well into the 21st century, Bihar is in darkness. “Will you continue to accept this situation?” he thundered as the people responded “No!” in unison. The problems were not insurmountable, he said, pointing out that Gujarat had similar problems when he first became the Chief Minister, but the State decided to tackle it head on, with the result that cities and villages alike get round-the-clock electricity. As a result, he quipped, the newspapers make a front page box item when power fails even for a few minutes! But the impact of this development is that today, the villages in Gujarat have small workshops, schools have computers, and doctors are willing to live in the villages because of access to television and the internet. It is now the turn of Bihar and the eastern States as a whole to have a slice of such development, he said.
Continuing the marathon campaign at Gaya, an ebullient Narendra Modi recalled the terrorist attack at Bodh Gaya and berated the State Government not caring about the loss of innocent lives and worrying only “that its vote-bank was not endangered”. This attitude, he lamented, has ruined Bihar and ruined Hindustan. The nation, he said, needs a “terror-mukt Bharat”, and asked the crowds if the regimes at the Centre or in the State could achieve this. As the people responded in the negative, he exhorted them to say who could do the needful and they obliged by chanting ‘Modi! Modi!”. The terrorism at Bodh Gaya, he said on a more serious note, was a conspiracy to distance India from Buddha-loving nations whose tourist footfalls had declined sharply since the incident, hurting large numbers of citizens in the unorganized sector who supported themselves with the tourist trade. The lesson of this development, he said, is that “Terrorism divides and tourism unites”.
Taking on the growing tribe of his critics, the Gujarat veteran said that he invited “those who sit in dark rooms and call the media and spread lies” (about him) to witness the Bharat Vijay Rally, where the ocean of heads tells its own story about what the outcome of the elections will be. He did not elaborate, but observers said this was aimed at intra-party critics who have been active in some quarters.
Ridiculing the Congress’s promise of bringing black money stashed in havens abroad back to the country, Narendra Modi said the promise was as hollow as the promise to create jobs and make India corruption-free. The Congress now talks of starting rural courts, he said, pointing out that the UPA had stopped giving funds for the fast track courts started by Prime Minister Vajpayee in 2011. The future, he said, would be safe only by embracing development in totality, and exhorted the people to give the NDA coalition victory in all 54 seats from the State.
Taking on the growing tribe of his critics, the Gujarat veteran said that he invited “those who sit in dark rooms and call the media and spread lies” (about him) to witness the Bharat Vijay Rally, where the ocean of heads tells its own story about what the outcome of the elections will be. He did not elaborate, but observers say this was aimed at intra-party critics who have been active in some quarters.
Ridiculing the Congress’s promise of bringing illegal money stashed in havens abroad back to the country, Narendra Modi said the promise was as hollow as the promise to create jobs and make India corruption-free. The Congress now talks of starting rural courts, he said, pointing out that the UPA had stopped giving funds for the fast track courts started by Prime Minister Vajpayee in 2011. The future, he said, would be safe only by embracing development in totality, and exhorted the people to give the NDA coalition victory in all 54 seats from the State.
Niticentral.com, 27 March 2014
http://www.niticentral.com/2014/03/27/congress-anti-dalit-anti-development-narendra-modi-204590.html