Congress on way out: Narendra Modi in Visakhapatnam rally

Hyderabad: Addressing a gathering in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi said, “YSRC’s birth is only for the CM’s chair. It has not been launched with ideals and principles. It was formed only to grab power. The party doesn’t have any values. I appeal to you to defeat the mother-son duos of Delhi and Seemandhra (Y.S. Vijayalakshmi and Jagan). You should defeat those who are indulged in economic offences and went to jail.” (Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy’s mother Y.S. Vijayalakshmi is contesting for the Vizag Lok Sabha seat).

He also promised to turn Vizag into an international business hub. “It was former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s idea of Vizag being a part of Sagaramala by developing an ultra modern international seaport. Give us the mandate and we will turn Vizag into an international business hub,” he said.

During his first public meeting of the day at Madanapalle, Mr Modi fired a broadside at Mrs Gandhi and invoked Telugu pride by alleging that June 2, the formation day of Italy, had been fixed as the date for splitting the Telugus.

He said that the Congress had never let an opportunity go waste when it came to insulting Telugu pride, pointing out to the “humiliating manner” in which the Congress had executed the bifurcation of the state without taking the people of Seemandhra into confidence.

He said that the Congress-led UPA had turned the nation into “Scam India” and added that according to the polling trends so far, the Congress clearly on its way out. Exhorting the gathering to vote for NDA, Mr Modi promised that the Seemandhra region would get its due share of the 100 smart cities that the NDA had promised to develop over the next five years. Adding a local touch, he promised to address the security and other concerns of the parents of those who had migrated to Gulf countries. He also assured that the Rayalaseema region, which grows vegetables widely, would develop along the lines of Kutch, which is a leader in agri exports.

Modi talks of 5F formula

During the rally at Nellore, Mr Modi forecast that the Congress’ seats share would not even cross single digits in many states. “What kind of government do you want in Delhi? Do you want a remote control government or the one operated by mother and son (Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi) or an ailing government?” he asked the record gathering.

The NDA’s prime ministerial candidate mooted the 5F formula to benefit cotton farmers in Guntur. Addressing a crowd at Gorantla, he said that cotton farmers had suffered losses of Rs 7,000 crore due to a ban on exports by the Congress government.

He spoke of a 5F formula comprising farm, farmer, fabric, fashion and foreign to provide value addition to the cotton cultivated here.
Senior BJP leader Ve-nkaiah Naidu acted as translator for Mr Modi.