Reaching out to the voters in the age group of “18 to 28 years”, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Monday exhorted the youngsters “in the golden period” of their lives not to just remain voters, but to step out of their homes and canvas among people for bringing in a “strong” Government at the Centre that “will deliver” and “change the fortunes” of their lives.
Shifting gears of his campaigning that would in the normal course have seen him take jibes at Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Modi concentrated on the development issues for most part of his 45-minute address here, but made it point to request voters in the age group of “18 to 28 years” to turn “canvassers” for the BJP to help him usher in a strong NDA Government with “300 plus” seats at the Centre.
Making an emotional appeal for support from voters in the “18 to 28 years” age group, Modi said: “Youngsters in the age group of 18 to 28 years are passing through a golden period of their lives. This is the period when all you youngsters have to chart our career and make decisions that will decide the future course of your lives.., If at this juncture, you have a nikamma (useless) Government in Delhi, just think as to what will happen to youIJ What if something goes wrong at this stage your livesIJ”
Addressing a huge rally for the BJP-led “Maha-Yuti” (grand alliance) at the BKC grounds in North-Central Mumbai, Modi said: “let others in the country may think whatever they want to, but you youngsters in the age group of 18 to 28 years think only about your future... If something goes amiss now, your lives will plunge into darkness. Then, how will be of any help to the countryIJ. I am very much concerned about your lives...You can ill-afford to have a useless Government at the Centre... Instead, you need a Government that delivers, a Government that will change the fortunes of the youngsters in the age group of 18 to 28 years,” the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate said.
Reaching out directly to voters in the “18 to 28 years” age group, Modi said: “That’s why I appeal you to not to just remain voters, but become canvassers (for the BJP-led NDA).. Those of you in Mumbai have two more days at your disposal and your counterparts elsewhere in the country have 20 more days. Step out, turn canvassers, go to every home and inspire people to bring in a strong Government at the Centre. As I have already told you before, I would like form a Government in Delhi with 300-plus seats”.
Earlier, predicting that the Congress-led UPA would be wiped out in the lS polls, Modi said: “The Congress will not even open its account in some of the states. There will be no State in the country where the Congress will touch a double-digit figure. The scale of debate that the Congress will suffer in the polls will be of an unprecedented nature”.
Ridiculing the Congress for harping on the issue of secularism, Modi said: "I have for the last six months raising issues of development.. I talk of employment to 70 crore youth in the country. They talk of secularism. I talk of issues like providing two square meals to poor, a permanent roof the for the needy, security for women.. but they keep harping on secularism. They have answers to my queries. They simply hide themselves in the bunkers of secularism and try to save their skin”.
Interacting with the audience on the nature of Government that looked forward to having at the Centre, Modi said: “What people want is a strong Government at the Centre, a Government that can taken quick decisions”.
Modi cited an analogy of how the Railways did away with the third class compartments in the trains, to dismiss the UPA’s claim that it had brought 15 crore people in the country above the poverty line. “It is like drawing the poverty line lower than the earlier level and bringing the poor automatically above the poverty line. The manner in which UPA Government has gone about the whole thing is like the Railways doing away with the third class compartment in trains and having only compartments that are second class and above”.
Criticising Rahul Gandhi — whom he repeatedly called in his speech “Rahul Bhayya”, for turning the homes of poor into tourist destinations, Modi said: “Here is a man who is born with golden spoon in his mouth. For him visiting the homes of poor people is like visiting a tourist destination. He goes to their homes with media persons in tow. He eats at their homes, depriving them of their own food, poses for photographs with children. He says he does not enjoy or be happy unless he speaks to poor people. On the other hand, I will not be able to sleep the whole night, after I meet up or interact with people”
On the employment front, Modi said that the NDA had created 6.5 crore jobs during its six year rule, while the UPA government had barely managed to create 1.25 crore during the last 10 years. “ In 2009, the UPA promised in its Dhokapatra ( manifesto), it would create 10 crore jobs. Has the UPA kept its promise during the last five yearsIJ How can you trust a government that betrays youIJ,” he asked the voters present.
Modi ridiculed the “information” provided by the PMO recently that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had delivered 1,100-odd speeches. “I was amused to hear the PMO’s claim made at a news conference,” he said.
Dwelling upon the “jobless growth” policy pursued by the UPA government, Modi said: “For creating jobs for 70 crore youth, you need industries. For running industries, you need power. Such is the sad of affairs that power plants with a collective capacity of 20000 are shut down in various parts of the country, for lack of coal. You know all about what has happened to coal.. The UPA government tells the Supreme Court that files are lost. What about people without jobs, their lives are lost”.
Earlier, addressing an election rally at Kalyan in the neighbouring Thane district, Modi appealed to the voters: “You give us a strong government, we will give you a strong country”.
“I have toured the entire country and the situation is conducive for the BJP.. One thing is clear that when the elections were declared it was a storm and in the midst of elections, what we are witnessing is nothing but “Sunami” in favour of the BJP-led NDA,” he said.