Modi accuses UPA of muzzling voices, BJP leader says Congress-led govt on CBI crutches, Narendra Modi arrives at a rally in a helicopter at Palace Grounds in Bangalore on Sunday. Modi addresses the massive crowd. Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi came down heavily on the Congress-led UPA government, saying that it was trying to suppress people’s voices, like it happened during the Emergency. Modi, addressing a mammoth rally in Bangalore on Sunday, said the Centre is surviving on the crutches of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Modi accused the Congress of hatching conspiracies against him as it was unable to stomach his growing popularity. The Congress is trying to suppress the voices which are lending him support, and also gagging comments on social networks, he alleged. Modi dubbed the rally, held at the Palace Grounds under the banner of Bharatha Gellisi (make India victorious), the biggest “saffron surge” he has witnessed. The party had laid out around two lakh chairs, and almost all were occupied. The rain gods, too, seemed to oblige the party, as the showers stayed away, contrary to weather bureau predictions. Modi, who informally launched the party’s Lok Sabha poll campaign in the State capital, did not deliver any impressive one-liners, as he usually does at public meetings. He did not attack any individual by name. But his speech was customised to suit Bangalore and youths who had turned up in large numbers. He did not give his detractors the opportunity to bill his speech as rhetoric. Of course, his fans expected a more fiery speech. The Gujarat chief minister, listing incidents to buttress his argument that the UPA has no faith in democracy and is muzzling free expression, said anyone talking in his favour was being suppressed, including Lata Mangeshkar. Even investment banking firm Goldman Sachs was not spared for saying that the “weather was changing” in his favour, he added. A veiled threat had been issued to the electronic media for telecasting his speech on Independence Day instead of the prime minister’s, he said, adding that the Congress even wanted a ban on opinion polls. Modi said the UPA government was not running with the help of majority but with the help of the CBI. “Every time the UPAfaces a crisis of support, it digs up files against leaders of other parties and secures their support,” he alleged. Modi said he was a “small chief minister”, but still the Congress is trying to suppress his voice in many ways. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s comment that “power is poison”, he took a dig at the Congress leader saying he (Rahul) wants power to be confined to only his family, and is not ready to empower his countrymen. Youth power In his hour-long speech from 12:45 pm, Modi also dwelt at length on the “power” of the youth and kept the crowd constantly involved by asking them questions that required “yes” or “no” answers. “The UPA perceives youth as voters, but we see them as power,” he said. Modi pointed out that 65 per cent of the country’s population is under 35, and the nation has the potential to emerge as a world leader in the 21st century by tapping this demographic. However, instead of prioritising skill development and utilising the youth potential, the government is providing incentives to set up abattoirs to slaughter the country’s cattle. “The Centre gave primacy to Pink Revolution after it came to power. That means it encouraged only export of meat. Had the same incentives been given to the youth of Bangalore, our software exports would have surged and simultaneously cattle could have been saved. “In Karnataka, too, the new government withdrew the anti-cow-slaughter bill as soon as it came to power,” he said. Modi said the growth in the country’s software exports, which stood at 40 per cent during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime, plummeted to 30 per cent and 9 per cent respectively under the two UPA regimes. He also asked the crowd: “Has the Centre given job to you? Has it given you daily wages?” The crowd replied, “No, No...” Modi said his political opponents were plotting conspiracies to defeat him. The attacks on the BJP and Modi are sharpening. They simply cannot digest (my popularity), the 63-year-old leader said. He alleged that many media publications and singer Lata Mangeshkar had come under attack for praising him. The government was also trying to curb free of speech on social media, he said. Hinting that people had not taken the allegations against him seriously, he said in the history of Karnataka no political party had ever seen such a gathering. It is a sea of saffron in Bengaluru, Narendra Modi said. He attacked the UPA government for letting current account deficit and inflation get out of control. The economic growth had dipped and unemployment was on the rise, he said. “The rupee is in ICU,’” he said. Addressing the local concerns he said, the Information Technology industry which was growing at 40% during the Vajpayee regime had also slowed down. The Gujarat Chief Minister was accompanied by the BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior state BJP leaders such as Sadananda Gowda, Jagadish Shettar and Ananth Kumar at the rally. The state leaders handed over a cheque of Rs. 35 lakh for the installation of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue in Gujarat. Lashing out at the UPA government for sitting in an ivory tower, BJPs Prime Ministerial nominee Narendra Modi today said that Congress was an indoor player while BJP was an outdoor player having a connect with the people. He also charged Congress with using the countrys youth as only voters while maintaining that his party considered younger people as power. For Congress, the youth are just voters but for us they are power. Our priority is to empower the youth to make India strong. This is our dream, he told a rally here. Modi said with more than 65 per cent of the countrys population below the age of 35, BJP wanted them to contribute to Indias development which will also help in global growth. The people in power in Delhi are sitting in an ivory tower. They are indoor players but we are outdoor players who have a connect with the people, the Gujarat Chief Minister said. He also accused the Centre of failure to provide jobs to the youth, saying while the UPA governments budget for skill development was Rs 1000 crore, a small state like Gujarat has allocated Rs 800 crore for it. Alleging that Congress and UPA government played votebank politics, he said after coming to power in 2004, the central government had overturned POTA thereby allowing terrorists and Naxals to go scot-free. Lauding Atal Bihari Vajpayees government for setting up the IT Ministry, he recalled that it was under the NDA government that the Moon mission was conceptualised which ultimately laid the groundwork for the Mars probe. He opened his speech by congratulating Sachin Tendulkar and Prof CNR Rao on being honoured with the Bharat Ratna.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 04:37:47 +0000
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