Declaring that the ‘chot’ (violence) by the left cadre against BJP workers have been responded with ‘vote’ by the poor people of Tripura, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday mocked at the “continuous dwarfing” of the Congress saying soon there would be only one specimen Congress Chief Minister (in Puducherry) left in the country with Karnataka being next in line of the BJP’s poll fire.
Expressing his gratitude for the huge mandate, Prime Minister promised that his Government would return the trust reposed by the people of the North-East in the BJP with “principal investment plus interest of vikas” in the region. He said people in Tripura must have suffered a lot to decide leaving the old regime and “express anger” through ballot against the left Government.
Addressing jubilant BJP workers at the new BJP headquarters at 6, A, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, Modi used a metaphor, “suraj jab doobta hain to lal hota hai aur ugta hai to kesariya rang leta hai (Sun is red when it sets, turns saffron when it rises)”, to refer to the end of the left rule in Tripura and the start of the BJP’s era. Modi expressed surprise at the “angry reactions” of the left leaders saying those who lecture on democracy should also have spirit of democracy to accept defeats.
Prior to Modi's address, BJP president Amit Shah addressed media persons saying the poll result is a clear approval of the development politics launched by the Prime Minister in the North East and a signal that the party would wrest Karnataka in the upcoming elections from the Congress.
Modi paid tributes to nine BJP workers killed in Tripura and also referred to killing of 24 party workers in Kerala , West Bengal and Odisha in last six months. “Tripura is an example that even one drop of BJP workers did not go waste”, Modi said.
He observed silence in the memory of 'martyred BJP workers' and also halted his speech for 'Azan' (Islamic call to prayer) from a nearby mosque to conclude before resuming his address to the party workers.
Without directly referring to the arrest of the son of a senior Congress leader in a bribery and cheating case, Modi took a jibe at the party for describing CBI and ED action as “vendetta” saying “ it is not vendetta , it is mandata..” (Government's mandate). The Prime Minister brushed aside Congress' vendetta charge saying “ we are working for the well-being of the country”.
He said Congress was never so down-sized as it is today and recalled him telling Puducherry Congress Chief Minister V Narayanasamy that he was lucky as soon he would be “ the only specimen Congress CM left in the country”. As for the Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, Modi said he was like an independent soldier.
Modi said Congress will be defeated in Karnataka also. In another tongue-in-cheek remark against Congress leadership, the Prime Minister said , on the one hand one party president (Amit Shah) winning one victory after another , on the other another party president moving up in the ladder but the party going down in its size.
While hitting out at the Congress, Modi, however, cautioned party men to ensure that “Congress culture does not inflict the BJP”.
Taking note of the BJP's performance in seven of the eight States (Mizoram excluded) of the North-East, Modi said in 'Vastu Shastra' (Hindu system of architecture) North-East is considered the most important direction as it is considered all too auspicious. “If North-East is set aright entire building is considered perfect,” he said adding today NE has taken leadership in the country.
Effusive in this praise for the leadership shown by Shah, the Prime Minister said NE polls have shown that elections could be won by organisational strength without showcasing too many faces, leaders or celebrities and pointed to the important role of local workers. He said in Tripura BJP contestants and workers were the youngest, barely completing 25 years. “Bal sena ne kamal kiya”, he said.
Modi said the positive results were also on account of the silent work done by his Government and Ministry like DONER which was a mobile one visiting NE once in a month and resolving issues in the region itself. Taking on the Congress regimes, he said his Ministers have made more visits to NE in last four years than those made in 70-years rule of previous regimes.
Shah said outcome in Tripura, Nagaland and also in Meghalaya are against the Congress and the left politics of non-performance. However, BJP's golden era , he said would begin only after the party scores victories in Karnataka, West Bengal and Odisha. He said these positive results augur well for the party's success in 2019 lok Sabha elections.