Charging that the Congress-led UPA Government was not ready to take along people with it, BJP Prime Ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narenda Modi said here on Monday that it was only matter of nine months that when fortunes of the country would change and the nation would once again hit the path of development.
Addressing gathering of traders organised by diamond merchants at Bharat Diamond Bourse at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Modi said that the Manmohan Singh dispensation had betrayed the confidence of people and the nation currently was at cross roads.
"..When Manmohan Singh took over the reins of the country in 2004, the people had a lot of expectations in him considering that the Prime Minister was an economist. Between 2004 and 2009 people reposed confidence in him as they were thinking that the work was in progress and the situation would be restored. But, the balloon of confidence in the Prime Minister burst, by the end of year 2009," Modi said
Modi, who was accorded a rousing reception at the airport on his arrival in the city for the first time after he was anointed as the Prime Ministerial candidate by the BJP, Modi candidly admitted that there could not be any other politician than him in the post-Independence era, who had faced such vitriolic criticism from various quarters.
"The kind of criticism, abuses and insults that Modi has been subjected to over the years, I doubt that anyone else faced such criticism or insults…If you Google my name and then you can get to read so much of criticism about me. There have been both criticism and false accusations against me, but people have never let me down," the Gujarat Chief Minister said.
“I may not have fulfilled all the aspirations of people. I admit there might have been some shortfalls from my side... ,But people never suspected my intentions," Modi said.
Modi, who shared a dias with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and BJP leader Gopinath Munde, said that the "overwhelming" reception that he received at the airport and at the function reflected the mood of the people that the change was in the offing in the country.
Earlier, soon after arrival at the diamond bourse, Modi was weighed in silver and after the weighing. He assured the IT Department that he would not take it home but would "use this silver to construct statue of Sardar Vallabhai Patel...which would be called ' Statue of Unity' and would be double the height of Statue of liberty that stands outside New York harbour".
"The government in Delhi wants to stop our surge to power in Delhi. They have fielded the CBI to threaten us. CBI can silence Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati but not me," Modi said, while addressing a huge turnout of BJP supporters at the airport.
"People are fed up of corruption and will vote for change for sure... The government has used CBI and all other agencies against me but I am not scared..CBI can muzzle many other leaders but not me...Every place I visit in the country, people have made up their mind to show the door to UPA government in the 2014 polls," Modi said,
The BJP's PM candidate, who was continuously cheered by the crowd with vociferous chants like "Modi, Modi, Modi", said: "They (the Centre) know that those who are with the people in their good and bad times would form their government at the Centre. Now the crowd here will make them feel even more jittery".
"The prime minister is in America but people don't believe that the country will reap benefits from his visit," the Gujarat chief minister said." Today, there is a lack of trust everywhere. Once you lose faith, then neither the family, the society nor the country can recover. PM met Nawaz Sharif yesterday… at least trust him. Strongest words from the dictionary were picked by his team to send a message across to people to suggest that everything went according to plan. For last 24 hours, Indian government's stand is being projected continuously. Haven't you heard itIJ Do you believe any of the Government's claimsIJ Do you think PM may have spoken all this inside the meeting with Nawaj SharifIJ," Modi asked. The crowds responds "No, No, No"... "That suggests that the trust has been broken," Modi added.
Making the most of the occasion at the Diamond bourse function, Modi revived the BJP's 2004 poll's catch-phrase "India Shining" in another context and exhorted the predominantly Gujarati diamond traders to help him make India shine again like glittering diamonds and uplift the country from the prevailing gloom created by a falling rupee, rising petrol prices, and lame diplomacy. He simultaneously urged the people in the country to vote for change to make India "shine".