Conspiracies, cries Narendra Modi

Bengaluru: BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, targeted by the Congress on charges of illegal snooping, hit back on Sunday alleging that “conspiracies” were hatched against him as the ruling party was unable to “digest” his growing popularity.

Addressing a rally of over two lakh people at the Palace Grounds here, which he said reflected the “saffron wave” across the country, Modi said: “These days, attacks on the BJP have increased a bit. Attacks on Narendra Modi have also increased. Attacks have increased because of this scene (turnout)...”

He said, “They are unable to digest this. Don’t know what kind of language is being used and the kind of conspiracies being hatched.”

In his first rally here after becoming the PM candidate, he attacked the Congress-led government at the Centre for suppressing freedom of expression, policy paralysis that had led to stagnation in the IT sector and for wrong priorities in agriculture which led to the price rise.

Urging people to “aspire for nectar (BJP) and move away from poison (Congress)”, he gave the Karnataka BJP cadre, disenchanted and disillusioned after the party’s rout in the Assembly elections six months ago, a strong boost.

But recent strictures by the Election Commission following his “khooni panja” remark forced Modi to be more careful in his speech. Not once did he use words like “shehzada” (meaning prince, a reference to Rahul Gandhi), nor did he refer to any historic event that could have triggered a controversy.

The attacks on the Nehru-Gandhi family were also missing, instead he tried his best to strike a chord with IT professionals and the urban middle class, accusing the UPA of failing to create employment opportunities and giving a stimulus to the IT industry.

Posters of former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who parted ways with the BJP and floated his own outfit KJP, were seen in and around the venue, extending support to Modi as PM candidate. 

Next: ‘Under UPA, IT got raw deal’

‘Under UPA, IT got raw deal’

Bengaluru: Even as he continued his criticism of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for its ‘flawed’ economic policies, the BJP’s prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday made an attempt to woo the huge population of IT professionals in Bengaluru and the city’s burgeoning middle class.

Addressing a huge rally at the Palace Grounds, Modi referred to the stagnation in job creation and IT exports and blamed it on the Central government’s policies. He said the earlier BJP government led by A.B. Vajpayee,  had set up an IT department at the Centre and framed a separate IT policy giving leverage to the industry which resulted in 40 per cent growth in the sector. "Now, it has come down to nine per cent. It clearly shows that the UPA government is not for growth of the IT industry," he said.

Continuing his attack on the UPA government, Modi said the Centre had set aside Rs 1,200 crore for skilled development while a small state like Gujarat had allocated Rs 800 crore for this sector. “The Congress is sitting in an ivory tower. They (the Congress) play indoor sport. We (BJP) play outdoor sport. They (Congress) are interested in vote bank politics,”he quipped.

Freedom of expression was another issue which he chose to strike a chord with the younger lot and the IT crowd. “These days, they (Congress) want to muzzle the freedom of expression. They cannot digest people expressing their views on social media. They do not want opinion polls. They wanted it to be banned,” he charged.

The Congress was targeting anyone who  spoke up in his (Modi) favour, including iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar and a leading global investment banking firm, claimed the Gujarat CM. “These days, attacks on BJP have increased.

And so have attacks on Narendra Modi. I don't know what kind of language is being used and the kind of conspiracies being hatched. They are trying various ways and means to rattle BJP,” Modi said.

Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm, had come under attack after they said that  market sentiments had improved after Modi was declared the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.

“Is this the language of democracy? They are not ready to listen to other parties’ views The time has come for you to depart,” he remarked. He referred to various recommendations of a committee headed by him on containing food price inflation.

“We gave them a report which is in cold storage. We recommended introduction of heavy penalties for traders who hoard. Then, we recommended trifurcation of Food Corporation of India. But, nothing happened.”

Earlier, BJP president, Rajnath Singh sought answers from the Congress on the communal clashes that  happened in Assam and other places. He said only BJP can give good governance and if voted to power, the party would make the country more secure.