Describing the Maoist culture of bullets and blood as the greatest threat to democracy, the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate today appealed to the cadres to shun the ideology of violence and renounce their guns for ploughs or pens for the welfare of society. Addressing a huge Bharat Vijay rally in Lohardaga, Jharkhand, on Thursday morning, Narendra Modi lamented that youth wielding guns are murdering democracy by killing innocent people and staining the land with blood.
Positing instead the Gandhian message of ahimsa, the BJP veteran said that the land and the nation crave for the life-giving green created by the hard-working farmer in his fields, which is the colour of development. Appreciating the people for attending the rally despite threats from Maoists who had called for a boycott, Narendra Modi urged the Maoists to adopt the path of progress and peace that came through the sweat of the brow, either with the kalam (pen, by studying) or the hal (by farming). Proclaiming that the autumnal fall (patjhad) is nearing an end, he exuded confidence that May 16 would launch a new spring in the nation.
Jharkhand, he reminded his audience, was made possible by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who respected the sentiments of the people, in sharp contrast to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who had openly mocked at this long held aspiration. But after the State was created, the Congress, which had done nothing for the region, became desperate to grab power at any cost. Thus it indulged in some or other gimmick to create insecurity and impose Governor’s rule. But the people must not forget that if the Congress had its way, there would perhaps still be no Jharkhand. In neighbouring Bihar, there are leaders who said that Jharkhand would be created over their dead bodies, the Gujarat strongman recalled, and asked where those leaders were now. The task ahead, he added, is to ensure a prosperous State and this is the responsibility of the BJP, the State Government, and the Government at the Centre.
Adivasi society is ancient, and their ancestors have built this nation, the BJP leader pointed out, but the Congress has behaved as if it did not even know about the Adivasis. From 1947 onwards, he said, there have been so many Congress Governments from Nehru onwards, but nothing was done for the welfare of the tribals. It was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had the vision to create a separate ministry for tribal affairs, appoint a separate minister, allot a separate budget, and design programmes for their welfare.
The BJP, he assured his audience that roared appreciation from time to time, is fully committed to the welfare of the nations’ 40 per cent Adivasi community. Chhattisgarh, which has a huge tribal population, “trusted us”, he pointed out. He regretted lack of employment opportunities in the mineral-rich State, which caused the out-migration of youth and forced them to them to work as labourers in large cities, because of Governmental inaction to develop the region.
Jharkhand’s tragedy is that leaders see its mines as an avenue for their own wealth generation. Taunting those who talk about corruption and challenge him (Modi) to reveal his solutions for the loot of mineral wealth in which big leaders are involved, he countered that much can be done if leaders have guts and honest policies. The mining of minerals has been made corruption- free in Gujarat, he said, due to a transparent mining policy, structural reforms, and the introduction of appropriate technology. As a result, royalty is paid online, and there is satellite mapping and vehicle computerization via GPS, which eliminates theft of raw materials.
The State’s royalty collection has thus escalated from Rs 300-400 crore to around Rs 1000 crores. What is more, the Prime Minister whose Government constantly carps against Gujarat even gave an award to the State and wrote to all State Governments to adopt the Gujarat’s Mineral Administration and Governance Using ICT (MAGIC) to end corruption in mining activities. Nevertheless, he mused, the Congress “only give promises, no parinaam (results).”
In Delhi, he said to the amusement of the people, there used to a “Jayanthi tax” which had to be paid under the table if one wanted environment clearance for any project. That is why there is no coal and power plants that can generate 20,000 MW of power are lying idle. The result has been the closure of mines and unemployment of the poor workers who are starving.
Another major avenue of employment and development is farming, the Gujarat Chief Minister said, and if the State’s farmer is provided with water, he will turn the soil into gold and fill the belly of nation. But nothing has been done for the kisan. Gujarat, too, was a low rain area with no natural water sources like rivers, but the State built check dams and other small schemes to harness water and changed the lives of the farmers. Despite being squeezed between Pakistan and the desert (registan), agriculture booms as a result of the hard work of farmers after the State made provisions for water. The same can be done in Jharkhand also, he insisted.
Criticizing the Congress manifesto that was released yesterday for repeating old promises which only proved that the party had done nothing for the people from 2004 onwards, either on the issue of controlling prices or generating employment, he appealed to the Election Commission to ask candidates to explain what promises had been fulfilled of the previous manifesto when they file their nomination papers. “Only then will this nonsense stop and real development take place,” he said.
Narendra Modi urged the people to return the BJP from all 14 Lok Sabha seats in the State in order to control prices, end corruption and the shoddy governance of the past ten years and make life safe for women. The rally was attended by former chief minister Arjun Munda, former deputy speaker Karia Munda, and other leaders.
Niticentral.com, 27 March 2014