A day after the Union government recommended the imposition of the President’s Rule in Puducherry following the collapse of the Congress government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched the BJP’s campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in the Union Territory. PM Modi also inaugurated a slew of completed projects in Puducherry and laid the foundation stone for others, including in the ports and highways sectors.
PM Modi launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi and former Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, “for serving the high command in New Delhi instead of the people.” His remarks come amid the President’s Rule being imposed in Puducherry on Thursday as the Congress government in Puducherry lost the confidence motion moved in the Assembly.
Insisting that the Union government has made many efforts to improve rural and coastal connectivity, Modi said that the farmers across the country were innovating and claimed it was the duty of his government to ensure their produce got a good market. Praising the people of Puducherry, PM Modi called them ‘talented.’ “The land is beautiful. I am here to personally assure all possible support from my government for the development of the UT,” he added.
Pitching Puducherry as a region with potential in various sectors, PM Modi said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) wanted to make it the BEST, saying the acronym meant the UT being a hub of Business, Education, Spirituality and Tourism.
PM Modi slams Congress
Training his guns on the Congress, whose party-led government fell on Monday after it was reduced to a minority in the wake of resignations, he said “The Congress culture you saw in Puducherry for five years is how the party works nationally.”
Not mincing words, PM Modi said the Congress culture of feudal politics, dynasty politics and patronage politics was ending and people all over the country were rejecting the party. “Our colonial rulers had the policy of divide and rule. Congress has a policy of divide, lie and rule. Sometimes, their leaders put region against region, sometimes they put community against community. They are gold, silver and bronze medal winners in telling lies,” he said, apparently referring to Gandhi’s recent statement in Kerala.
During his visit to Kerala on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi had said that he was used to a “different type of politics” in north India and coming to the southern state was “very refreshing” as people are interested in “issues”, which drew condemnation from the BJP, whose leaders accused him of an opportunistic anti-North bias.
Read: Rahul Gandhi’s ‘north vs south’ statement in Kerala triggers row within Congress
PM Modi also took on Rahul Gandhi over his statement that there was no ‘dedicated’ fisheries ministry at the Centre, adding the NDA government had set it up in 2019. “Congress leaders say we will make a fisheries ministry. I was shocked. The truth is, it is the current NDA government that had made a ministry for fisheries in 2019. The budget allocated for fisheries has grown more than 80% in two years,” he said, adding the earlier NDA dispensation under the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had established a ministry for the tribal communities as well.
PM Modi hit out at former Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, implying he headed a ‘high command’ government that served the interests of a few Congress leaders in Delhi. He also slammed him for “lying” about the complaint made by a woman against the government during the Congress leader’s visit here a fortnight ago.
On February 17, during Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with the fishing community in Puducherry, Narayanasamy wrongly translated a fisherwoman’s complaint. While the woman said the former CM never visited them, even during the cyclone, Narayanasamy translated it as he visited them and distributed relief assistance.
“One could see the pain in her eyes. One could hear the pain in her voice. Instead of telling the truth to the nation, the former Puducherry CM gave a wrong translation of the woman’s word. He lied to the people and his own leader. Can a party whose culture which is based on lies ever serve the people,” asked PM Modi.
Referring to the BJP’s sweep of the Gujarat municipal polls, he said the number of wards won by the saffron party was 10 times that of his party’s archrival Congress. “This is how big the gap is,” he said.
“People all over India are rejecting Congress. Their seats in Parliament are the lowest ever. The Congress culture of feudal politics, dynasty politics, patronage politics is ending. India is young, aspirational and forward-looking.”
Recalling his earlier Puducherry visit, he said the excitement and energy are ‘excellent’ now and that “the winds of change” in the Union Territory are visible now.
He said people were happy for two reasons: One, for launching several developmental works; and two, people of Puducherry are celebrating the “freedom from misgovernance of Congress.
While the people had voted for Congress with great hopes in 2016 that their problems would be solved, after five years they were disappointed and “their dreams and hopes are broken,” he said.
In 2016, the people of the UT did not get a government of people but one that was serving the high command of the Congress. “They got a government that was busy serving Congress high command in Delhi. Their priorities were different. Your former chief minister was an expert at lifting the slipper of his top party leader but did not have the interest to lift people out of poverty in Puducherry,” he said, alluding to a past incident involving Narayanasamy and Rahul Gandhi.
During a 2015 visit of flood-affected areas here, images purportedly showing Narayanasamy holding slippers for Rahul Gandhi had gone viral, though the latter claimed he offered his footwear to the Congress leader after he removed his shoes to wade through stagnant water.
President’s rule imposed in Puducherry after Congress-led govt’s fall
“Puducherry deserves a government whose high command is the people and not a small group of Congress leaders sitting in Delhi,” PM Modi added.
“The Congress government had damaged every sector in the UT. Traditional mills were closed and industries were in trouble,” Narendra Modi said, adding he could understand that Congress does not believe in working for the people. “What I cannot understand is why Congress does not want others to work,” he said and alleged that the Congress government did not cooperate in implementing schemes and funds were not also utilised.
He also wondered why the earlier Congress government had not conducted civic polls despite Supreme Court direction and slammed its “anti-democratic mindset.”
PM Narendra Modi appealed to people “to reject anti-democratic forces and support the NDA’s governance and restore the past glory of Puducherry” in the coming polls, which is likely in April.
Source: TheNewsMinute.com