PM Modi holds 4 rallies, targets Congress: They never had grip on law & order

He said, “Do you recall the time when curfew was imposed regularly (in Vadodara) and the terror of the anti-social elements? They knew they could get away by doing anything because they were given the freedom by those sitting in Gandhinagar. They had the protection of the Congress… Even today, such news is reported regularly in Congress-run states.”

Accusing the Congress of having “no connection with law and order in the state”, he said, “In Porbandar, there were boards during the Congress regime stating that the law and order jurisdiction of the state government of Gujarat did not apply there. They (Congress) had to lock the gates of Porbandar jail and transfer the convicts to other jails…. Even for industrial development, companies first see how safe and stable a place is. The BJP has created an environment for business — with peace, unity and compassion.”

Addressing a public meeting at Kharod, in tribal-dominated Dahod, during his second visit since April, Modi said the Congress “never remembered you (people from tribal communities) or participated in your joys and sorrows”. He said 75 years since Independence, a BJP government, for the first time, nominated a woman from the tribal community to be the President of India.

“Couldn’t the Congress leave politics aside and feel happy about having a tribal woman as a candidate and extend support to her instead of fielding a candidate,” he asked. “Not only did they field a candidate to oppose the nomination of a tribal woman for the President’s post but also made all efforts to defeat her.”

Turning nostalgic while narrating his days as a pracharak, Modi said, “I have grown up eating ‘rotlas’ in tribal homes… When I used to come to Dahod district on a tour, I would sleep at night at a PHC in Jhalod because it had one toilet… When I was in Dahod, Sangam tailor shop used to stitch my clothes, and today his son brought me a jacket. This is the personal relationship I have with Dahod.”

“Even the Chief Minister would not know the names of your streets but I, as the Prime Minister, know every alley of Dahod,” he said.

At Mehsana, the Prime Minister said: “The young generation of the country has moved towards the BJP… It is not a generation that has moved ahead blindfolded. They watch each step closely and then take a decision on where to go. They have seen the conduct of Congress governments in the past…”

Modi also addressed a rally at Bhavnagar.