Shri Narendra Modi addressed a massive BJP public meeting at Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh. The meeting was a part of Dr. Raman Singh’s Vikas Yatra, which had commenced in May. BJP President Shri Rajnath Singh was also present on the occasion. Shri Modi appealed to the people of Chhattisgarh to take the state ahead under the leadership of Dr. Raman Singh for the third time. He also called for spreading awareness about voter registration across the state.
Praising the work of Dr. Raman Singh, Shri Modi stated, “When Dr. Raman Singh became the Chief Minister, he had two ways ahead of him. The first was to complain day and night and ask Delhi to give the state something. The other option was to take Chhattisgarh on the path of development on the strength of its youth and tribal communities. Dr. Raman Singh did not wait for Delhi. He decided to let Delhi do as it feels but the state will move ahead on its strength. Yes, this path was tough. It is very easy to go to Delhi and ask but Dr. Raman Singh did not do that. He fought but never bowed down.”
Shri Modi further praised several initiatives of the Dr. Raman Singh-led Government in Chhattisgarh, most notably the Chhattisgarh Government’s efforts to revolutionize the PDS system. He recalled that he had got the opportunity to come to Chhattisgarh in 2008 when the scheme to give rice to the poor was launched. “The Honourable Supreme Court that rebukes the Centre praised Dr. Raman Singh’s initiative of giving food to the poor. What Dr. Raman Singh has done is a matter of great pride,” he pointed Shri Modi shared that the Gujarat Government always seeks to learn from the best government practices of other states and that is why officials from Chhattisgarh had come to Gujarat to share the working of the PDS system. He added that he himself sat during the session to hear them.
During his speech, Shri Modi showered praise on the development works done by various BJP Governments, be it the current Governments of Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh, Dr. Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh, Shri Manohar Parrikar in Goa and the previous BJP Governments in Karnataka, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. He recalled that when the progress of the states on the 20 Point programme was evaluated, the top five states would be either BJP or NDA ruled states and that is why rather than making amends to their own Governments, the Centre stopped the evaluation altogether.
Taking a dig at Dr. Manmohan Singh and praising Dr. Raman Singh, Shri Modi said, “Chhattisgarh has a Singh, Delhi also has a Singh. Both have completed ten years in power. Both are doctors also. Dr. Raman Singh is a doctor of humans, Dr. Singh is a doctor of money and see what has happened to the Rupee, which is oscillating between life and death.”
Sharpening his attack on the UPA Shri Modi pointed that in the journey of a nation there will be good times and there will be bad times but leadership is tested on how the people are assured and their trust remains in tact during the bad times. However, Shri Modi added that for the first time there is a Government whose work culture is characterized by arrogance and their style is not to answer the people. He said, “Common people are being affected by price rise, children are weeping but the Government is busy defining poverty. The Planning Commission that is headed by the Prime Minister says that the poor can live with Rs. 32/- a day in cities and Rs. 27/- a day in villages. And, their ministers, leaders, spokespersons are saying that in Rs. 5/- you will get whatever you want. More than angry, I am concerned that there are such people sitting in Delhi who do not even know how much the poor spend. They do not even know the problems a Mother has to face to give two square meals to her children.” He described the Government as insensitive and devoid of humanity.
Referring to recent statements made by the Congress Vice President that poverty is a state of mind, the Chief Minister said that he was shocked to hear the person on whom the Congress is heavily banking on, saying that poverty is a state of the mind. He also wondered what his grandmother, who coined the slogan of Garibi Hatao would be extremely sad to hear his view. The Chief Minister likened such behavior on the part of the Centre as throwing acid on the wounds of the poor. Referring to the Congress Party, Shri Modi affirmed, “Congress is very arrogant but when efforts are made to walk over the anger of the people, they destroy this arrogance through the medium of democracy.”
Targeting the Centre on the issue of the coal scam Shri Modi affirmed, “There was a debate on the missing coal files in Parliament. The Supreme Court is asking, the Parliament is worried but the people are asking where is the Government? The Government is lost, the money is lost from the coffers and their honour is lost a well!”
The Chief Minister shared that when he comes to Chhattisgarh, he remembers former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He stated that when three states were created during the BJP rule in 2000, there was joy across all the states but in contrast, the situation is different when the Congress announced Telangana. He opined that this is because the Congress does not consider the people as citizens but as votebanks and due to that even if the Congress touches gold, it becomes dust and the problems of the people increase.
Earlier during the event, BJP President Shri Rajnath Singh described Shri Narendra Modi as the most popular leader of the nation. He added that the Congress is envious of Shri Modi’s popularity and that is why they are hurling allegations at him. He affirmed that the attacks on Shri Modi may sharpen but the entire nation and the entire BJP stands with Shri Modi. Shri Singh lauded the performance of the Chhattisgarh Government under Dr. Raman Singh and compared the good work done by Atal ji’s NDA Government with the current mess under the UPA.
Dr. Raman Singh spoke at length about the efforts of the Chhattisgarh Government to transform the state and take it on the path of the development. He spoke about the PDS reforms and the Ambulance services that save the lives of many people. Top Ministers, MLAs, MPs and other office bearers of the BJP were present on the occasion.
