Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial Narendra Modi on Wednesday appealed to the people of West Bengal to vote for the saffron outfit in the upcoming elections, and added that the Third Front idea would make India ‘third rate’.
“Bengal is crucial for India’s development. If Bengal leads India, India can lead the world. This third-front idea will make India third. If West Bengal accepts BJP once again, we will solve all your problems. Political experts are all going to be proven wrong about the upcoming elections because they cannot gauge the mood of the people,’ he said while addressing a rally here today.
“If you vote for us, you will have three gains. You have elected Mamata Didi here, elect me in Delhi, and above me there is your very own Pranab Da,” he added.
Modi also criticized the Gandhi family for not making Pranab Mukherjee the Prime Minister in 1984.
“When Indira Gandhi died, Pranab Mukherjee was most senior member of the Cabinet, but he was not made the Prime Minister. It would have been better if Pranab Mukherjee was made the PM of the country. In fact, they refused to take Pranab Mukherjee in the Central Government also after Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister. The people of Bengal must not forget this episode or development,” he said.
“In 2004, Pranab ‘da’ was the most senior person, and if Sonia Gandhi did not want to be PM, the seat should have been given to him (Pranab Mukherjee) and not to Manmohan Singh,” he added.
Expressing concern over the lack of development in West Bengal, Modi claimed that some political parties indulge in vote bank politics by talking about secularism and focusing on the poor only at the time of elections.
“Some parties talk about only poverty and secularism but treat minorities and Muslims as only voters. When elections come, the poor are given attention and they talk of secularism. Too many promises and hope was given and we waited for 60 years. The country does not want to wait anymore. The poor need money, women want respect, fields need water, the jobless need employment,” he said.
He also said that India cannot become strong if the entire West of this country is suffering,
“At a time, West Bengal used to contribute 10 percent to agriculture, now it barely contributes three to four percent. Has anyone bought any change to the life of the laborers? Factories are shut, because the Delhi government cannot give you fuel and that is why there is no light here?” he questioned.
Modi said that only 35 percent schools here have electricity supply and asked how will children learn and get educated.
“School facilities are very poor in rural West Bengal, there are not enough toilets,” he added.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain and newly inducted party member and music director Bappi Lahiri was also present during this rally.