Confident that Karnataka is set to return to the BJP fold, Narendra Modi reached out to the two new States messily created out of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, promised solace to the wounded Seemandhra, and lambasted the Congress leadership for wielding the butcher’s knife in a situation that called for great sensitivity.
Addressing a gigantic ‘Bharat Gellisi Rally’ in Gulbarga, Karnataka, the Gujarat Chief Minister thanked the State’s farmers for contributing iron for Sardar Patel’s Statue of Unity, and said that the statue was being built to commemorate his enormous contributions towards the unity of India. Had it not been for Sardar Patel, Indians visiting Gulbarga (a Kannada speaking part of Hyderabad State) would have needed a Pakistani visa after independence in 1947, he pointed out to wild cheers from the audience. It was Sardar Patel who intervened in 1948 and made the Nizam see reason. Sardar Patel, a sterling Congressman, united India by uniting the States.
Sharply escalating his attack on the Congress’s ruling family and in sharp contrast to the Sardar, Narendra Modi said, “ye dus numbari Gandhi”… Pausing to explain that he used the term ‘dus numbari’ because “their house address is 10 Janpath,” he repeated this politically explosive term as the people cheered lustily and condemned the manner in which Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated. Pointing out that the BJP had supported a separate Telangana State because it was a long-standing demand of the people, he said the party also wanted Seemandhra to be adequately provided for. “But the Congress is like a doctor who kills a mother to give birth to the child. We wanted a healthy child and mother. The Telugu spirit, Telugu gaurav, is the mother, but they (Congress) didn’t do like that. Congress believes in divide and rule, todo aur raj karo, baanto aur baante jao…” he regretted.
Congratulating the new State of Telangana, which was born out of the sacrifices of those who championed its cause, struggled and even went to jail to achieve it, the Gujarat strongman promised that Telangana would get full support from the BJP. However, the Congress leaders had left Seemandhra in the lurch because they saw no benefit for the Congress in that region.
Condemning the politics of bereaving a part of the country, Narendra Modi, standing in Gulbarga which is in the vicinity of Hyderabad city, pledged to visit Seemandhra soon and provide a healing touch to the new State. He reiterated, “Both new States are part of India and the responsibility of the Government at the Centre”. Promising that the BJP would not leave any scope in nurturing both parts of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, he urged the people to cast aside the divisive Congress which had ruled the country only on the strength of the politics of division, by partitioning the country, by instigating inter-State rivalries, by promoting riverine disputes and by triggering rural-urban schisms.
Addressing a gigantic crowd that spilled out of the ground, Narendra Modi predicted that the Congress would have difficulty in crossing even the two-digit figure because the people have seen through its vote-bank politics, corruption, nepotism, indifference to the sufferings of the people, for the last 60 years. India could have gone from strength to strength after 1947, but countries that gained freedom after India and countries much smaller than India have all raced ahead, while India is going backward day by day. The Congress party’s style of functioning is such that a noted jurist like Fali Nariman rejected the formation of the Lokpal Committee with elections looming over the horizon; Narendra Modi hinted that this appointment should have been left to the new government. Pointing out that the diamond jubilee of India’s independence is approaching, he urged the nation to think of an appropriate honour to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives and for those who perished in the Andaman jail for the sake of freedom. Only corruption-free and transparent governance can honour these sacrifices, he added.
Reiterating that in a democracy both the ruling party and the opposition parties have to explain their performance to the people at election time, Narendra Modi said that after ruling the country for 10 years, the Congress is shirking this moral imperative. Pointing out that the Congress president had visited the region recently, he questioned why she didn’t explain the corruption and crippling price rise under the party’s rule; why an Indian jawan was beheaded at the border, or why Maoists kill wantonly in Uttarakhand. The elected representatives of political parties owe people an explanation of how they spent their time and how they spent the public purse; “kya kiya, kyon kiya, kab kiya, kiske liye kiya,” must be properly explained, but Congress’s arrogance has reached the seventh heaven and it thinks it is beyond accountability. He urged the media to check the Congress’s 2004 manifesto and ask the party to explain its achievements in the light of its promises.
Dismissing (without naming) the Congress Chief Minister of Karnataka and the Union Railway Minister (also from Karnataka) as of no consequence as they have done nothing for the State, Narendra Modi reiterated that the Congress cannot be relied upon anymore. The people want to rise above the struggles and sufferings of their parents and grandparents, to get jobs and opportunities.
Later that afternoon in Hubli, where local farmers offered their fields to host the gigantic rally, he contrasted the Congress president’s imperial temperament with his own modest origins and urged the people to accept his dedicated services in lieu of elected representatives who rule like kings. He mocked the Congress leaders’ manner of speaking, saying that they speak as if they have descended from Mars and are not responsible for the problems of the people even though they are ruling in Karnataka and at the Centre. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to woo women voters during a recent visit to Karnataka, he said under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a movement to educate the girl child had taken root in all districts of the country. Gujarat has trained women forest guards to protect the Gir lions with staggering success. But the National Capital and all Congress ruled States have a shameful record of crimes against women, and the Congress leaders talk about empowering women!
Ridiculing Rahul Gandhi for backing out from being named as the Congress’s Prime Ministerial candidate, he said party workers from all over the country converged at Talkatora Stadium to hear the historic announcement, but had to return with three gas cylinders! Ridiculing this method of luring people with gas cylinders, he pointed out that Atal ji in just five years provided nearly four crore families with new gas connections; Congress couldn’t do so in 60 years. States like Gujarat have brought cooking gas into people’s homes through gas pipelines, but the alienated regime in New Delhi is still talking about extra LPG cylinders.
Karnataka farmers, despite bumper harvests, are suffering due to inadequate cold storage facilities and lack of agro-processing units to add value to their produce and enhance their incomes. Infrastructure for agriculture, particularly irrigation, and linking rivers will be the priority of the BJP when it comes to power, he promised.
Narendra Modi exuded confidence in winning the forthcoming general election as the youth today have been born in independent India and are a decisive force whose aspirations will influence the outcome. It may be recalled that the lakhs of youth who received voting rights when the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi lowered the voting age to 18 years had decisively voted the Congress out of office after the Bofors kickbacks and other corruption scandals came to light.
Niticentral.com, 28 February 2014
http://www.niticentral.com/2014/02/28/in-karnataka-modi-makes-a-solemn-promise-194681.html