PM targets benami assets
Modi: Wipe out Congress ‘termites’ in Himachal
Hinting at a fresh crackdown against benami properties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday ridiculed the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh by likening it to “termites” and urging voters in the hill state to wipe out the party by giving an unequivocal mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the November 9 Assembly elections.
“Himachal ko bimariyon se dur karne ke liye Congress rupi dimak ko Himachal ki jad se nikalkar phekna zaroori hain (Congress needs to be dumped to rid Himachal of its ailments),” Mr Modi said.
Addressing a rally in Himachal Pradesh, the Prime Minister said the Congress’ campaign against demonetisation was driven by its attempts to mislead people and create an atmosphere against him before he can raise a “storm” over benami assets.
Mr Modi also launched a scathing attack on Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who is facing corruption charges. He went on to add that if people elect a BJP chief minister in the state, development will increase like it did when Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister and BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal was the state chief minister.
In the upcoming elections, the BJP has declared Mr Dhumal as it chief ministerial candidate.
Chiding the Congress' decision to mark the first anniversary (November 8) of demonetisation as a “black day”, Mr Modi said that it was actually “blackmoney day” for the Opposition party and other vested interests who are unhappy with him for his fight against corruption.
IT SEEMS Congress leaders have left Virbhadra Singh (Himachal CM) to his fate... Their rotten mindset and rotten work culture will set rot in India’s democracy. NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister
Launching a week-long campaign in poll-bound Gujarat, BJP chief Amit Shah on Saturday posed five questions to counter Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, all of which revolved around the Narmada Dam project and UPA-era grants to the state.
Addressing a rally in Gandhidham, Kutch district, Mr Shah said that Gujarat faced maximum discrimination during the UPA regime and people of Gujarat will remember that while voting for Assembly polls next month.
Mr Shah then posed questions to Congress vice-president, asking why permission wasn’t granted for completion of the Narmada project by the Congress government and why they had not permitted closing of the gates of Narmada dam.
The other questions he posed were: Why was no special grant given to the Rann or salt marshes in the Kutch region?; Why was Gandhinagar not given Central grant when UPA was in power?; and Why was crude oil royalty grant denied to Gujarat for many years by the UPA government?
Over the next six days, the BJP president will travel to 33 districts of Gujarat, beginning with Kutch, Morbi and Surendranagar.
Mr Shah’s tour is a precursor of sorts to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Gujarat campaign in the second week of November.
Mr Gandhi has been extensively campaigning in the state which will go for a two-phased polling on December 9 and 14.
Addressing supporters in Patidar-dominated Varachha, in the diamond hub of Surat, Mr Gandhi had said recently that the reality of BJP and Gujarat were two different things, and the fight was now between the two.
“You gave everything and wanted employment, education for your children, treatment for your ailment. Did you get it? Every time you click a selfie, a youth in China benefits,” he had said.