LASHING OUT at the Congress over Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar joining Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said this was an indication of how much damage the party intends to cause to Gujarat in the coming days.
Addressing a BJP rally in Rajkot’s Dhoraji, which votes on December 1 in the first of the two-phase Gujarat elections, Modi went on to say that while people in parched Saurashtra and Kutch were longing for water, there were those who launched agitations, “defamed” Gujarat and “blocked” the Narmada dam for three decades.
Referring to images of Rahul with Patkar during the Yatra, Modi said, “Think about the type of people who blocked the Narmada project. You should have seen a photo published in newspapers yesterday… Narmada was the only source of drinking water for our people in Kutch and Saurashtra. For blocking those waters for three decades, they went to court and launched agitations. They defamed Gujarat… no one in the world, including the World Bank, was ready to lend money to Gujarat. Yesterday, a leader of Congress was out on a padyatra, placing his arms on the shoulders of that sister who had led this agitation.”
He said, “This is an example of the extent to which you want to ruin Gujarat in the coming days… When Congress leaders come to you to seek your votes, ask them with what face are they (asking for your votes).”
Modi also chided voters in Dhoraji for electing Congress candidates in the 2017 elections. “Last time round, you went off the mark somewhat… Now tell me, what benefits did that bring? Should such mistakes be committed? Don’t even commit the slightest of such mistakes,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi, incidentally, is scheduled to address an election meeting in Rajkot city on Monday.
The Prime Minister had referred to the Narmada protests in September, too. Addressing via video link a meeting of environment ministers at Ekta Nagar in Narmada district, he had blamed “Urban Naxals’’ and “some global institutions and foundations’’ for stopping “modern infrastructure’’ projects, such as the Sardar Sarovar dam. He had also cautioned against getting caught in the “conspiracies of such people” who, he said, have been able to influence “even the World Bank and higher judiciary”.
During his speech Sunday, Modi reminded the gathering of how water had to be transported to Rajkot by train in 1986 to overcome a shortage and how the police had to be deployed at the time. He said that when he would plan visits to areas like Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad and Ranpur in Botad district, people would welcome him. “But they would say, please don’t stay for the night as there is no water for a shower in the morning,” he said.
Modi, who served as CM of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014, claimed that BJP governments in the state had changed the scenario. “We used to believe nothing could be done as it was not raining and leading such a life was our destiny. All governments also used to think this way. But we came out of that mentality,” he said.
Listing various initiatives, Modi said new canals were constructed, stepwells revived, new wells and ponds dug and a campaign launched to dig one lakh farm watersheds in 100 days to store rainwater in villages, farms and wasteland. Besides, he said, 17 lakh hectares of land started getting irrigation water from the Narmada project, enabling farmers to cultivate three crops every year.
Instead of installing a pillar or constructing a monument to mark 75 years of Independence, his government is getting 75 big ponds dug in every district of the country, Modi said.
Earlier in the day, Modi performed puja at the Somnath temple near Veraval in Gir Somnath. Later, addressing a poll meeting, he appealed for a “record turnout” and said that he would help BJP leader and CM, Bhupendra Patel, break his own records as CM.
Modi also addressed poll meetings in Amreli and Botad. In Amreli, he claimed that the Congress would not be able to help Gujarat achieve the next level of growth. “Not a single person of the Congress will be able to do any good for you… Last time, you sent Congress people from here… Can you recall one work they did? Did they do anything good? You, residents of Amreli, why are you wasting your votes?” he said.
In 2017, the Congress had won all five Assembly seats in Amreli district; all four in Gir Somnath district; two in Rajkot district, including Dhoraji; and, one of two seats in Botad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a public meeting ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections, at Veraval in Gir Somnath district, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022. (PTI Photo) 
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