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Journalism of Courage
ADDRESSING SEPARATE public events in poll-bound Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the killing of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor in Udaipur who was hacked to death in June last year, to target the Congress.
“Aap mujhe bataiye, jo Udaipur mein hua, vaisi kabhi aapne kalpana bhi ki thi? Jis Rajasthan ne dushman par bhi dhokhe se vaar na karne ki parampara ko jiya hai, us Rajasthan ki dharti par itna bada paap hua. Kapde silane ke bahane log aate hain aur bina dar, bina khauf ke, tailor ka gala kaat dete hain aur video banakar garv se viral kar dete hain. Congress sarkar ko usmein bhi vote bank ki chinta satati hai,” he said at a rally in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh.
(“Tell me, did you ever imagine an incident like what happened in Udaipur? Such a big sin took place on the land of Rajasthan, which has lived the tradition of not attacking even the enemy by deceit. They (the killers) come on the pretext of getting clothes stitched, slit the tailor’s throat without fear, and then proudly make the video viral. And the Congress government is worried about the vote bank even then.”)
Reiterating this in Gwalior later, Modi said: “In Rajasthan, necks are cut in the open and the government keeps watching. These opponents of development (vikas virodhi) also bring appeasement wherever they go. This makes goons, criminals, rioters and corrupt people uncontrollable. Atrocities on women, Dalits, backward classes increase in states ruled by them.”
Kanhaiya Lal was killed by two men in his shop in Udaipur on June 28 last year, for allegedly sharing a social media post on the Prophet made by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. The accused had posted a video of the killing online.
In Rajasthan, Modi accused the Congress government led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of “destroying” the state’s reputation. “What kind of image of the brave land of Rajasthan has been presented by the Congress to the world? It is not possible to celebrate any festival in Rajasthan peacefully. Nobody knows when riots will break out or when a curfew will be imposed,” he said.
“The Congress has created such an environment in Rajasthan that the common man is worried about life, the businessman is worried about business, and the worker is worried about work. This anti-development environment has to be changed. Be it rioters or criminals, only a BJP government can fix it, and this has been our track record,” he said. Whether it is crimes against women, Dalits, or riots, Rajasthan heads the list, he said.
Calling the Gehlot government a “kursi bachao sarkar”, he said: “Gehlotji was busy saving his Chief Minister’s chair, while half of the Congress was busy trying to topple it, leaving the public to fend for themselves.”
Referring to Gehlot’s statement asking Modi to guarantee that the Congress government’s schemes would not be discontinued if the BJP comes to power in the state, the PM said the CM had already conceded defeat. “The message of the people of Rajasthan has reached the Congress leaders also. Gehlotji also knows that the countdown for the departure of his government has started… Gehlotji himself is sure that he is going,” he said.
Responding to this, Gehlot later tweeted that many schemes and projects started by his government in 2008-2013 were stopped by the BJP government when it took over in 2013.
Modi said the BJP’s lotus was its “only face” this election. “This lotus has to win with an overwhelming majority… our candidate is the lotus. We will make the lotus bloom,” he said.
Modi also promised action the “paper leak mafia”. “We used to hear about the mining mafia, but there is a paper leak mafia here. I ask the youth of Rajasthan to trust me, this paper leak mafia will be held accountable… I assure you that the paper leak mafia which has played with the future of the youth will not be spared.”
Modi began his Chittorgarh visit with a puja at the Sanwariya Seth Temple. He also laid foundation stones and dedicated several development projects to the nation, including the Mehsana-Bathinda-Gurdaspur gas pipeline, HPCL’s LPG plant, railway and road projects, and the Indian Institute of Information Technology campus in Kota.
In Gwalior too, the PM launched development projects adding up to Rs 19,000 crore. Referring to the Opposition as “opponents of development”, he said: “MP’s development cannot be done by those who have neither any thought nor a roadmap… These people have only one job, to hate the country’s progress, to hate India’s schemes.”
“India has become the fifth economic power in the world in nine years, but these opponents of development are lying to prove this did not happen. Modi has guaranteed that in the next term, India will be among the top three economies in the world. This also causes pain in the stomach of some people who are hungry for power,” he said.
“These opponents of development were given six decades by the country… If so much work can be done in nine years, how much could have been done in 60 years. They also had a chance, they could not do it. This is their failure. They used to play with the emotions of the poor, they are playing the same game even today. They used to divide society on the basis of caste and creed, they are committing the same sin even today… They used to sing the glory of only one family, they are doing the same even today. They see their future in this, so they do not like the glory of the country,” he said.
He said that when the Congress ruled the state, “there was injustice and oppression in Gwalior Chambal region”. “It became difficult for ordinary people to walk on the road. But with hard work, our government has ensured economic stability in this area too. The next five years are very important for Madhya Pradesh… That’s why there is a need for a double-engine government here,” he said.
