Mangaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Mangaluru as BJP’s star campaigner for the Dakshina Kannada district on May 5.
Terming the Congress as “a fish out of water,” he ridiculed the party for losing most of Indian states and union elections and said, “Congress lost in Lok Sabha, Himachal, North East, Goa, Maharastra, Rajasthan and so on. The personal ambitions of the Congress governments caused it to lose all these elections. After all this, now it’s Congress’ time to vacate Karnataka” and added that “Congress is like a fish that suffers out of water.”
Earlier, a huge crowd waited at Nehru Maidan to hear Prime Minister’s election pitch. Chants “Modi … Modi…” reverberated at the venue as the prime minister reached the venue at 7 PM.
“Kudlada matha janakuleg yenna namaskarolu (greetings to all the people of Mangaluru),” he greeted the crowd in Tulu.
“I was greeted by not a human chain but a human wall on the way from the airport to the venue here. I will return your love by giving you development,” he promised appreciating the warm welcome and the huge gathering that greeted him.
Exuding confidence in the BJP victory, he advised the election analysts to stop their calcualtions and accept that BJP would win the Karnataka elections with a majority. There is no chance of a hung mandate,. BJP is sure to form a government on May 15, he added.
He ridiculed the Congress for criticising his initiatives as a defence mechanism to hide the defeat of Congress and said, “Congress blames me and my initiatives to hide its failures. Karnataka will punish Congress for its sins committed in the past five years. The blame game will not work anymore.”
Patting his own back for his achievements at the Centre in four years, Modi said, “Congress has no other alternative than opposing Narendra Modi. Even when the global institutions praise India, Congress alleges that Modi has purchased these institutions.”
Modi also alleged that because of dynastic rule in the Congress, several prominent leaders such as Sardar Vallabhai Patil, Lal Bahudur Shastri and Raj Gopalachari were sidelined.
Speaking on the alleged murders of RSS, BJP and Hindu outfit activists in the state, he said, “They killed more-than two dozens of our activists just because of their idelogical difference. I want to assure the families of those who were killed that after May 15, the law will punish the perpetrators.”
“We will work on empowering the people like poor, Dalits and the weaker sections of the society. Our mission is to empower the common man”, Modi said.
Speaking on the freedom of women, respect to women and empowerment of women, he questioned that weren’t Muslim women suppressed due to Tripel Talak. They are rendered homeless just because of WhatsApp..
Rajiv Gandhi had oppurtunity to give justice to the Muslim women by the abolishing the Triple Talaq but he did not do so for the reasons of vote bank politics.
The prime minister tried to woo the farmers of the district by raising the issue of effects of Arecanut on health. More than half of Arecanut produced in India comes from Karnataka, especially from the coastal districts. Taking advantage of the fact, he said, “Congress government betrayed the Arecanut farmers by claiming that Arecanut causes cancer.”
Uttar Pradesh State Minister Mahendra Singh, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, BJP District President Sanjeeva Matandoor, MLA candidates S Angara, D Vedhavyasa Kamath, Dr Y Bharath Shetty, Santhosh Rai Boliyar, Harish Poonja, Zilla Panchayath President Meenakshi Shanthogodu and others were present.
