In a pointed attack on the Congress president, Narendra Modi observed that a very close confidante of the Prime Minister, indeed his right hand man, has written in a book released two days ago, stating that Manmohan Singh never ran the Government and that it was Sonia Gandhi who saw the files and made all decisions of the Government of India. Addressing a gigantic gathering at Haveri in Karnataka on Sunday, Narendra Modi said the book described him as an ‘Accidental Prime Minister’, and bemoaned that in a scooter accident only two or three persons might die; in a bus accident some 40 to 50 could die; this could become 600 in an air crash and up to 1,000 in a railway accident, but an ‘accidental prime minister’ put the future of 125 crore at risk, and plunged the future of the youth in darkness.
These claims are reinforced by a statement by the current Chief Minister of Maharashtra (Prithviraj Chauhan) who was previously a Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, who has revealed that in 2009, Manmohan Singh never wanted to the Prime Minister again and begged to be relieved of the responsibility, but was forced to accept the post by Sonia Gandhi. Why did she do this, mused Narendra Modi, and answered that it was because her son was not ready for this responsibility and the Congress president’s blind love (andha prem) for her son overrode all considerations for the future of the country and gave us 10 years of darkness. “Can we again entrust the country to these people,” he asked, and replied that “we cannot let them (Congress) ruin or break the country again; there is no time to waste; India needs a strong Government”.
Continuing his style of interactive dialogue with the highly responsive crowds, the Gujarat veteran said that the Congress was indulging in all sorts of compromises to remain in power and keep him (Modi) from coming to power at the Centre. Sometimes the A Team fights and sometimes the B Team, and there is perfect harmony between the Congress and the other Opposition parties on this score, he laughed. Though the major challenges before the nation are price rise and employment opportunities, farmers’ suicides and rising poverty, the Congress was avoiding responsibility and single-mindedly focusing on defeating him.
While the BJP pondered over the agrarian crisis and came out with a formula in its manifesto that Minimum Support Prices cannot be decided arbitrarily but must be 50 per cent above all farm input costs, the Congress could not even implement the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme for minorities sincerely. He said minority delegations had informed him that the implementation in Congress-ruled States was an abysmal two to three per cent.
Previously, at a huge rally at Chikmagalur, Narendra Modi observed that the constituency had stood by Indira Gandhi in her difficult moments and elected her on the slogan, “Ek sherni sau langoor, Chikmagalur Chikmagalur” (one lioness hundred monkeys, Chikmagalur Chikmagalur). Promising to do for Chikmagalur ten times what Indira Gandhi had promised, he said that the people now understand the Congress, its history, deeds, intentions, and they are tired, they want a Government that has the will (irada) to improve their lives.
The UPA, he taunted, comprises of such eminences who call travelling like ordinary citizens “cattle class”; another born in Chikmagalur but educated abroad speaks contemptuously of India, the Prime Minister himself tells US President Obama that India is a poor country, as though this is news to Obama or that he (Obama) is going to do something about it. Then, there is a famous recounting minister, jo ghaple se chunao jeete (who won the election by fraud) but thinks he is the most brilliant person, who claims that India has been poor for 5000 years. Rubbishing this, the Gujarat strongman said that a country known as the golden bird (sone ki chidiya), where rivers of milk and ghee ran and which was regularly looted on account of its fabulous wealth, was never poor, the poverty is in the minds of the Congress leaders, all of whom are very dear to Sonia Gandhi and the shehzade.
Amidst an uproar of delight from the people, Narendra Modi claimed a special kinship with the district, as a chai-wala before coffee-walas, and said the two drinks are twin sisters that are kept ever ready to serve to guests in India. If the Government of India had had any understanding of the global economy, he said, it would have taken steps to ensure that Chikmagalur coffee reached the global market with proper research and packaging. Stating that he had personally told Jairam Ramesh that all States which had special items that could be marketed should have innovative packaging to reach the world market and that there should be an educational institute to assist this endeavour. He regretted that the UPA simply did not know how to do anything.
In contrast, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri inspired jawans to win the 1965 war and inspired farmers to fill the granaries of the nation. This, he said, is the reason why the mood of the nation has changed. Whereas Sonia Gandhi and shehzade only care for the chair (kursi), his personal mission was to work for the twin goals of good governance (su-shasan) and development (vikas) alone. This involves giving priority to employment and irrigation for farming, for which interlinking of rivers must be considered.
Greeting the Tamil speaking population of the district on the occasion of the Tamil New Year on April 14 (Chaitra Pournami), he told the enthusiastic crowd that he would be personally conveying his greetings to cine star Rajnikant at Chennai later in the day.
At Chikkaballapur, where “parivar bhakt” (loyalist) M Veerappa Moily is fighting a member of a regional dynasty HD Kumaraswamy and the BJP’s BN Bachche Gowda, whose ancestors have contributed enormously to the State, Narendra Modi said that the people of the area were being poisoned by flouride in the drinking water which was making them sick and prematurely aged. He lambasted Veerappa Moily for failing to keep his promise to solve the problem, and recalled how Gujarat had solved its water crisis by bringing the Narmada water to people who used to trek 10 kms daily to fetch water in the twenty first century.
Noting that former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda had said that ‘if Modi becomes the PM then I will leave Karnataka and live somewhere else’, Narendra Modi said that in that case, the former Prime Minister would have to leave Karnataka; he urged him to come to Gujarat and permit him (Modi) to take care of him like a son! He urged the people to give the BJP all 28 seats from Karnataka and not allow the Congress to open its account in the State.
Niticentral.com, 13 April 2014