“For the Congress, ‘development’ model is hand pump, BJP’s is Narmada project : Modi
MORBI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi are back on the campaign trail for Gujarat elections on Wednesday.Modi has started addressing Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) election rally in Morbi. He will also address a rallies in Prachi near Somnath, Palitana in Bhavnagar and at Navsari in South Gujarat.
PM Modi launched the first of four Gujarat rallies today in the crucial town of Morbi. As he landed in his helicopter, the crowd chanted his name.
Located in the heart of Saurashtra, Morbi, a hub of ceramic-tile makers, is seen as an influencer for the surrounding areas which have a strong affiliation to the BJP. But this is also one of the epicentres of the big agitation led by Hardik Patel against the ruling party.
“In good times and bad, we have stood with Morbi,” the PM said, “The same cannot be said of the Congress.” He said Morbi is typical of the famous Gujarat model that he is credited with developing during his 13 years as Chief Minister.
“The main issue in Kutch and Saurashtra when we came to power was water shortage,” he said. “For the Congress, ‘development’ was giving hand pumps. For BJP, it is large irrigation schemes and large pipelines that carry Narmada water.”
Continuing his claim that the opposition Congress is anti-Gujarat, the PM said, “When Indira-ben came to Morbi, she held a handkerchief to her nose against a foul smell.”
While , Rahul Gandhi will visit Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts, where he will interact with people and hold public meetings. Meanwhile, Hardik Patel of PAAS is also expected to hold a mega rally in Rajkot West, the constituency of Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani.
Patel will then move on to Morbi, Somnath, Junagadh and Himmatnagar.The two-phase Gujarat elections will take place on 9 and 14 December, while counting of votes is scheduled for 18 December.
Stepping up his offensive against Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the Gujarat elections, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today sought to make the state’s ruling BJP accountable for its promises in the last polls.
Gandhi also brought up the BJP’s 22-year rule in Gujarat and said people were demanding answers. “22 salon ka hisaab, Gujarat mange jawaab (Gujarat demands answers for 22 years of BJP rule),” he tweeted.
Congress’s development model is hand pump, BJP’s is Narmada project, says PM Modi in Morbi “For Congress development’ was giving hand pumps. For BJP, it is SAUNI Yojana. Through the SAUNI Yojana, we built huge pipelines.
The larger Morbi region has three of Gujarat’s 182 assembly seats. Two are with the BJP and one with the Congress. How the party performs here will be seen as a test of the newly-introduced GST or national sales tax, which angered lakhs of small traders, the sort that Morbi is filled with. Morbi has an annual turnover of 25,000 crores; it employs about 10 lakh people.
Two years ago, Hardil Patel launched a huge movement, which quickly drew young Patel men like himself who say the community must be included in castes that get the benefits of affirmative action policies.
Hardik Patel is urging his caste to back the Congress because he says it has made a suitable offer on reservation in government jobs and state-run colleges for the Patels.
