In his first election public meeting in Chandni Chowk parliamentary constituency in Delhi, former Deputy Prime Minister and senior BJP leader lal Krishna Advani exuded confidence that the party under leadership of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will win 300 seats and form a corruption-free Government. Seeking support for party’s nominee from the constituency Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday, the BJP patriarch said he is impressed with the achievements of Vardhan and the way, he had worked to eradicate polio, he would certainly work to cure the ‘diseases’ of the region.
“I was really impressed with the determination, thoughtfulness and simplicity of Dr Harsh Vardhan when I first read his book on polio movement — A Tale of Two Drops. There is a perception that a politician speaks without giving a thought. But Vardhan proved it wrong with his movement of two drops,” he said. The meeting was held at Bara Tooti Chowk of the Sadar Bazaar area dominated by minority community. Besides Vardhan, present on the occasion were former union minister and BJP leader Arif Baig, former Delhi BJP president and two-time MP from Chandni Chowk Vijay Goel, former Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta, senior BJP leader Professor Vijay Kumar Malhotra and film actors Praveen Kumar and Arjun Bajwa.
The presence of Baig was an apparent attempt to reach out to Muslims in the wake of appeal made by the Jama Masjid’s Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari. Speaking on the occasion, Baig urged the people of minority community not to fall in the trap of Congress and vote for change and better governance. “I am here to clear the air on ‘If Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister of this country, the lives of Muslims will be miserable.’ All this is bunkum. It’s a malicious campaign run by the Congress to instil fear in Muslims. It is time to tell them, Muslims are not scared of anyone except the supreme power. The reality is that Congress itself is scared of Modi and making desperate attempts to stonewall him,” Baig said. Speaking on the occasion, the BJP candidate from the constituency Vardhan took a dig at his opponents — Congress’ Kapil Sibal and Aam Aadmi Party’s Ashutosh. “Sibal has been a Member of Parliament from here for last ten years but the issues of traffic congestion, narrow and dingy lanes, shortage of water and lack of sanitation have not been addressed. His government spent crores during Commonwealth Games but he could not bring funds to execute Master Plan and redevelop the old Delhi,” he said. . While referring to Ashutosh, Vardhan said his party (AAP) is a symbol of anarchy.