Freedom of expression doesn’t give anyone right to abuse India: Vijayvargiya

Indian politics has been through several stages, Vijayvargiya said, adding Rajiv Gandhi’s prime ministership in the 1990s was an “era of his own”. “I must say that he brought the panchayat and local bodies to give the right of governance to the local administrations — we must give credit where due. But along with the right to governance, he also sent across corruption to local bodies, so much so that as the Prime Minister, he (Rajiv Gandhi) himself lamented: “If I send one rupee for people, only 25 paise reaches them”… What I want to say is that if Ganga is polluted at its origin point at Gangotri, it will not be clean if you are standing in Kolkata,” Vijayvargiya said.

Comparing the Congress regime to the leadership of Narendra Modi as PM, the BJP leader said: “Your state leader, who ruled your state for 20 years, is now running this country for seven-and-a-half years but not a single blemish of corruption on him. This is the power of Narendra Modi, who has shown what clean governance is like… Right from government scheme benefits to development funds, everything is channeled appropriately to reach its destination. If one party gave slogans of Gareebi Hatao, it is Modiji who has made the slogan become a reality… Look at the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana benefits… I can say with full confidence that after 2014, India is not just standing on its feet or even walking… India is running ahead at full speed. ”

Vijayvargiya said it was due to Modi’s diligence that Indians stranded in Ukraine were evacuated in the middle of the conflict. “When Ukraine and Russia were involved in a conflict, our PM spoke to leaders of both countries to create an evacuation corridor. When they asked what will be the way to identify Indians during the evacuation, Modiji said they will carry the Tricolour… The ones holding the bombs stopped (throwing bombs) when they saw the Tricolour. It is because of Modiji.”

Vijayvargiya also reminded of the incident when Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke in favour of the Indian government, despite being an Opposition Leader from the BJP, as he delivered a speech in Geneva. “People were surprised that Vajpayee ji spoke highly of the government despite being in the opposition… He told them, “Today, I am here to represent India and not my party. I have left behind my party flag in my party office and the nation comes first.” This is what the BJP believes in. We always believe in nation first.”

Former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi also addressed a session and remembered winning a tennis Championship in Ahmedabad in 1994. He thanked Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for introducing civil services in India. “If it weren’t for Sardar Patel, there would be no IPS… I get inspired by Varghese Kurien from Gujarat and also Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is a communication expert. If you see the way he communicates with us, you would not need to go to a communication school.”

Bedi laid emphasis on grooming oneself for life’s challenges and said, “When I chose to become IPS, I was asked if I was willing to undergo the same training as my male batchmates, I said test me. I wanted to go through the same training so that when I work as an officer, no one would say, “She is only half-trained”. I realised that my sports training has helped me a lot.”