The saffron brigade on Sunday unleashed its star campaigner, BJP leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, for the civic elections in the city. Dabbed with his customary rhetoric, Modi, before going on to Mumbai to share the stage with Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, set the ball rolling when he went all out against Union Agriculture Minister and Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and local MP and Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi.
Modi said the fight between the coalition partners Congress and NCP was “like andar masti aur bahar kusti (inside it is camaraderie and outside they fight)”. Addressing a rally at Sarasbaugh, Modi who was busy criticising Deshmukh and Pawar before being
reminded of Pune, came down heavily on Kalmadi. Touching upon the development projects like Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) and river development, he said the ruling party was not interested in
developing Pune.
He said despite being in power for the last five years, the Congress and NCP did not pay any attention to development. “They are capable of thinking about seasonal activities and not find permanent solutions (to the city’s problems),” he said.
Modi said in Kalmadi’s raj people should not expect anything for the present. “His name itself has kal (tomorrow) in it. But people should not wait for kal,” he said.
He called upon the people to throw out the ruling party from power so that even the State government would take notice of it.
“Give them a jhatka and show them the road. This is the only chance to take revenge for all the wrong governance and misadministration. Experiment and give chance to someone new (BJP-Sena),” he said.