Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)
Mangaluru, Apr 13: A sea of people gathered at Nehru Maidan in the city to witness Prime Minister Narendra Modi address the 'Vijay Sankalp' election rally here.
Both the grounds of Nehru Maidan were full to the brim, with over one lac supporters chanting Modi's name. Spirits were high, and even the April heat could not dull their enthusiasm for the mass leader. Some even climbed on trees to witness the rally.
Scores of supporters came to the rally dressed as 'chowkidars' (security guards) in response to Modi's 'Main bhi Chowkidar' campaign. Among them was Beltangady MLA Harish Punja.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon the huge gathering of supporters and admirers to vote for a 'mazboot' (strong) government that the BJP would provide, as against the 'majboor' (helpless) government that the Congress and its allies may provide.
Before beginning his speech, Modi expressed concerns for some people who were watching the rally sitting upon trees. "I will be very sad if something happens to you. I am yours, so I will keep coming. You should not take such risk," he said, requesting the people to climb down.
He began his speech in Kannada, much to the delight of the crowd. "I bow to this land of temples, maths, rich culture and knowledge. I also bow to Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar whose Jayanti is on April 14.
"I have come to this ground several times, but today it seems like a saffron sea is waving here. You have painted everything saffon. While coming from the airport, which is a long way, I saw not human chain, but human wall on both sides of the road. I wondered, if so many people were on road, how many would have gathered here.
"Whenever I come to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, I am blessed with your love. You faith in me has given me the strength to take major decisions. I thank the entire country for the support. All that I have been able to do in the last five years is due to your support. India's name is being praised across the world, be it in US or Russia. This is possible not because of Modi, but because of your vote," he said.
"This election is not about just elecing MPs, we have to take a decision to be made on how we want to see India in the next decade of the 21st century. You should all decide how the new India will be. For this, you need to vote for India," he said.
Attacking the opposition parties, the PM said, "For parties like Congress, JD(S) and the like, 'Parivarvad' (dynasty politics' is the inspiration, for us, the inspiration is 'Rashtravad' (nationalism). They only work for giving advantages to every person in their family, but what we do is work hard to bring the very last person in the society to the mainstream.
"Their philosophy is 'Vamshodaya' (based on dynasty), our philosophy is 'Antyodaya' (upliftment of the weakest sections). Because of Congress and its allies, there is corruption and injustice today. Because of us, transparency and honesty increase. Their Vamshodaya has given only slogans to the poor, our Antyodaya has brought down poverty rates at a brisk pace. Their Vamshodaya cares only about family, our Antyodaya respects every individual. Their Vamshodaya ignores their own party leader, our Antyodaya enables even a tea seller (Modi himself) to become a Prime Minister. Do you understand this difference?" he told the crowd.
Taking credit for conferring Padma awards on social workers and environmentalists like Saalumarada Thimmakka, he said, "Who could have thought that someone working in a remote tribal area or someone working to save the environment in a remote place would be given Padma Shri one day? When the lady came into the Rashtrapati Bhavan with broken slippers and as I honoured her, I thought to myself, this is true India."
"India has faith in its resources, capabilities and dreams. But sadly, after indepences, the Congress did not give the kind of governance it deserved. The 21st century gave Congress another chance, but the Congress lost that opportunity by favouring a family," the PM said.
"We have built a memorial in honour of Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. But the Congress does not care for previous Presidents. Dr Radhakrishnan dedicated his life in the service of Karnataka. He was the President under Congress, but they did not build any memorial in his honour. But you will find a number of statues of people from the Congress dynasty. The 21st century is punishing the Congress for its crimes.
Paying tributes to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh tragedy that will complete 100 years, he said, "A nation that forgets its sacrifices, its past and its history, gets destroyed from the roots. Today when Modi remembers the martyrs, Congress and its allies feel uncomfortable. When we listened to the demands of retired soldiers and brought in One Rank One Pension, they had problems with me. This shows their attitude towards our defence forces. When we conducted surgical strike, they started asking for proof. Are our soldiers not our sons? Are they not brave? Do they need to give proof?
"When India kills terrorists by barging into their homes, the entire 'Mahamilavat' (referring to grand alliance) comes to ask questions about defence forces. They have even called the chief of the defence forces 'Gali ka Gunda'. They should be ashamed of themselves. But I don't think they have any shame to be ashamed. Instead of strengthening Indian culture, they are destroying it.
"Politics, court, election are on one side. But today's reality is that even to have faith has become a crime. The condition in Kerala where CPIM is in power is such that no person can even take Aiyyapa Swamy's name. Taking Sabarimala's name lands you in jail. Our candidate was in jail for 15 days for speaking on Sabarimala issue. You cannot even take Aiyyappa's name - is this not an insult?" he said.
"Mahamilavat Congress culture has not only harmed our culture but also weakened our defence forces and our economy. In 2014, our banking sector was in ventilator. The banks gave double the loans between 2006 and 2014 than they had given in 60 years since independence to 2006. Imagine the amount of commission they made. We will need a probe to find out.
"But in 2014, Chowkidar stopped their game and they panicked. They have started running, but where will they run. This is Modi. No matter where in the world they hide, this Chowkidar will bring them to book," he declared, adding that three are already in jail and more will follow.
Accusing the Congress and JD(S) for doing injustice to the farmers in state, he said, "In other states farmers have already started getting the benefits of PM Kisan Yojana, but in Karnataka they are still waiting. This Congress-JD(S) government is not ready to give the list of beneficiary farmers despite asking several times. They are the enemies of farmers. They promised loan waiver but did not do it, and if someone else wants to do it, they will allow. Hence it is important to get rid of them."
He also announced that if voted back to power, his government will have an exclusive ministry for fishing community. "Our government is concerned about fishermen. Once we form new government after May 23, we will have a new ministry for fishermen. We have also given them credit card facility and financial support for deep sea fishing, along with provision of navigation devices. BJP is in favour of fishermen."
Urging people to support the BJP once again, he said, "Every resolve that this Chowkidar has made will be fulfilled with your support. A small mistake in the assembly elections destroyed entire Karnataka. We will not make that mistake again."
"The Mahamilavat allies want majboor government, we want mazboot government. If we want mazboot government, even the Chowkidar needs to be mazboot," he said.
He then ended his speech by asking the crowd to repeat 'Main bhi Chowkidar' slogan with mixture of Kannada.
BJP Dakshina Kannada candidate Nalin Kumar Kateel and Udupi candidate Shobha Karandlaje also spoke on the occasion and listed the achievements of the Modi government and also the development works undertaken in the coastal districts such as electrification of the Konka. They urged the people to cast their votes for the BJP so that the coastal districts can continue to develop under Modi government. MLA Sunil Kumar, MLA C T Ravi and Srinivas Poojary also spoke.
MLAs Vedavyas Kamath, Dr Bharat Shetty, MLAs Raghupati Bhat, Harish Punja, S Angara, former MLA Lalaji R Mendon, former MLC Capt Ganesh Karnik, and others were present.
Watch full speech