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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attacked Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for calling GST “Gabbar Singh tax”, claiming arguments against its current structure were nothing but a “grand stupid thought”. He targeted Rahul over his recent temple visits in Gujarat, even as the Congress leader rejoined the poll campaign with a visit to the famous Somnath temple.
The Prime Minister also spoke about anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir and said police and Army jawans have “hit a double century in killing terrorists”, claiming all those involved in the attack on Amarnath Yatris in July this year have been identified and eliminated. “Like this, we have run the country,” he said.
Modi, who joined the BJP’s campaign after a day’s break, addressed four public meetings in Morbi, Prachi (Gir Somnath), Palitana (Bhavnagar) and Navsari, targeting around 25 Assembly seats going to polls in the first phase of elections on December 9.
Hitting out at Rahul and the Congress over the “Gabbar Singh tax” barb, the Prime Minister retorted: “They can only think of their sagawalas (relatives)”. He claimed while the BJP has the “legacy of fakir Mahatma Gandhi”, the other side has “the legacy of royalty. They were born with a gold spoon in mouth”.
The Prime Minister’s first pit stop was at Morbi — hotbed of the Patidar quota agitation. Quota stir leader Hardik Patel too addressed public meetings at three villages of the district.
Hitting out at the Congress over its criticism of the Goods and Services Tax , Modi said: “Some new economists who have always looted the country can only remember a dacoit.”
Calling the Congress “anti-poor”, the PM said, “You are talking about levying 18 per cent tax on salt, and also suggesting the same 18 per cent tax on luxurious cars, cigarettes and liquor. How can it be done? What wisdom is this?… Do you want to take cancer to every household of the country. Whose coffers you want to fill?”
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Recalling the Machhu dam flood tragedy of 1979 in Morbi, the PM said he had spent one month working in the town after the disaster as an RSS worker. “When we were lifting bodies, your grandmother (Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother Indira Gandhi) had come to Morbi. In Chitralekha (a Gujarati magazine), there was a photo of Indira Gandhi moving around while covering her nose with a handkerchief. And RSS workers were doing work of humanity then,” Modi said.
He told the audience that it was for the first time that “their men” were in power both at the Centre and the state. “Don’t let the opportunity go… I know Gujaratis are very pucca in their hisab-kitab,” the PM said, seeking vote on the basis of development.
From Morbi, Modi went to Gir Somnath’s pilgrimage town of Prachi, 25 km from the Somnath temple, where Rahul paid obeisance earlier in the day before kicking off his Junagadh-Amreli leg of election campaign in Saurashtra region.
He said India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had reservations over the reconstruction work of Somnath temple initiated by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He also said Rahul was now “suddenly visiting Somnath dada (the temple deity)”.
“Your great-grandfather, who was the country’s first Prime Minister, had expressed displeasure with the reconstruction of the Somnath temple undertaken by Sardar Patel.” said Modi.
Destroyed and rebuilt several times in the past, Vallabhbhai Patel had envisioned the reconstruction of the temple post-independence. The “pran-pratishtha” at the existing temple was done by Rajendra Prasad in May, 1951.
He said the Congress had no future. “It has become a burden on the country. Neither does it have a leader, nor does it have any principle, nor is it connected to the soil or the people.”
At Palitana, Modi’s public meeting was organised at Lunsikui area on an open ground, which has a large Muslim population. He paused his speech for a few minutes during azaan.
