Social activist Shabnam Hashmi, sister of the slain activist Safdar Hashmi , alleged that BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi was raking up the ‘ myth’ of Gujarat model before the countrymen just to cover up the Gujarat riots.
“Gujarat is more backward than UP, Bihar and Jharkhand but fake claims by the BJP leaders and backed by the media,people are confused over its Gujarat model,” she said. Addressing a press conference here Shabnam said that under the banner of Janvade Vichar Andolan, Bharat (JAVAB), around 100 social activists have joined a platform to oppose Modi as he is threat to the democracy. “Modi’s real agenda is communalism and not development as he claims,” she said. JAVAB has campaigned against BJP in over 100 lok Sabha seats in the country and had called for voters to support the strongest secular candidate in their constituency. In Uttar Pradesh, theorganisation is supporting Congress, BSP and SP.
Giving some statistic of development parameters of Gujarat, Shabnam said 70 per cent of women in Gujarat are anemic while 45 per cent children under the age of 5 years suffer from malnutrition.“Gujarat is on the top in case of debt as it has rose to Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the Modi regime while the students drop out after standard 10th is 55 per cent,” she said.
The social activist also alleged that around 6000 farmers had committed suicide in Gujarat after the BJP government did not pay them the compensation of their acquired land and given to the industrialists. Shabnam is actively campaigning in UP against the BJP and will be going to almost all the seats of the eastern parts of the state going to polls next month.