Modi asks people to vote for change

Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday promised to transform India into a powerful nation if the people voted his party to form the government at the Centre. 

“lok Sabha elections are not being fought by politicians and political parties. Rather, 125 crore people of the country are fighting the elections for change and development of the country,” Modi said while addressing a mammoth crowd at the Parade Grounds here.Modi said that political analysts sitting in air-conditioned rooms should watch the crowd to have a feel of the wave of change sweeping across the country. “The election is not arithmetic, it concerns the chemistry of the feelings of the people. The poll projections will be proved wrong,” he said pointing out that the BJP was poised to win 300 seats on its own.

Asking the people whether they wanted a lax, remote-controlled, weak government at the Centre, Modi exhorted youth in the 18-28 age group to decide their future and avoid voting for a worthless government at the Centre. “If a weak and inefficient government comes to power, it will ruin the next five years of the country’s youth,” he said. He asked the youngsters present at the rally to not only vote but also canvass for a strong government in the country.Having a dig at the BJP rivals, Modi said the Baap-Beta (Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh), Maa-Beta (Sonia Gandhi and) and Behenji (Mayawati) had forgotten the real issues and were abusing him on a regular basis in their election rallies. 

Speaking about Sonia Gandhi’s objection to his “Yeh dil maange more” statement in Himachal Pradesh, Modi said that he came from a poor family hence he did not find anything wrong in asking for something but he would be ashamed if he would have to loot anything. 

“Those who have looted the country should be ashamed. Why should I be ashamed when I am only asking for people’s support so that I may work for farmers and safeguard the interests of women and girls in the country,” he remarked.“The BJP’s rival parties are unable to digest the fact that a tea-seller is close to running the country,” he said and added that now the poor of the country would not be suppressed.“If the BJP is voted to power, I will appeal to the Supreme Court to look into the criminal offences mentioned in the election affidavits of all the newly-elected MPs and decide the cases in one year,” Modi said while promising to stem criminalisation of politics after forming the government. 

“The same step will be taken in case of legislative assemblies,” he added.

Modi also asked the Election Commission to deploy para-military forces in the next phases of elections in Bihar, eastern UP and Bengal.“Anomalies have been reported in the previous phases of polling and may be repeated on May 7 and 12,” he said, adding that the Election Commission should work impartially.He quoted an Intelligence Bureau (IB) report submitted to the Election Commission to justify his demand for heavy deployment of central paramilitary forces in Bihar, Bengal and eastern UP in the remaining two phases of lok Sabha elections.