Modi in Gujarat
“Mani Shanker Aiyar, who was a minister in the Congress government said ‘did elections happen during Mughal rule? After Jahangir, Shahjahan came, was any election held? After Shahjahan it was understood that Aurangzeb would be the leader. Does the Congress accept that it is a one family party?
We don’t want this Aurangzebi Raj (Aurangzeb’s rule).... For us, country comes first, 125 crore people of this country are our high-command,” Modi added.
Modi said that the thinking in the Congress is that if it can defeat the BJP in Gujarat, maybe people in other states will listen to it.
“Will you allow that to happen? Will you stop the journey of development in Gujarat?” Modi asked the audience which responded with an emphatic ‘no’.
The prime minister said even the Congress has accepted that the BJP is not an anti-muslim party, as unlike in the past elections, it is not branding BJP leaders communal this time.
“If you remember 2002, 2007, 2012 (polls), all Congress leaders would brand us as communal and anti-muslim. But before the 2017 polls, no leader is saying that BJP is communal. This means the Congress has also accepted that the abuse they were hurling against the BJP was false and meant for vote bank politics,” he said. camp.
“Traffic policemen are the ones spending nearly 12 hours out braving vehicular emissions. We have provided them masks but there was a need for such a health check-up with emphasis on respiratory problems. In the next ten days, we plan to make each one of our 5,700 personnel undergo the tests, which cover non-respiratory problems as well, and have roped in ten hospitals,” said Pathak.
Most of those who had come to attend the health camp on the first day welcomed the move but said the nature of work left them with little choice but to soak polluted air as long as they are on the field.
Assistant sub inspector Bhag Singh, 58, recounted how during his last posting at Civil Lines he had to manage a heavy corridor from Nigambodh Ghat to Hanuman Setu, leaving him gasping for breath all the time.
Another policeman said they had to take off masks to attend phone calls. “Wearing masks for 12 hours can get uncomfortable. They obstruct the airflow into the nostrils, making it very difficult to breathe,” said assistant sub-inspector Lakshman Singh Baghel.
Many policemen complained of throat and nose infections, which doctors said were possibly caused by reuse of masks after they had outlived their utility.
“These are disposable masks; and the high levels of pollution that we are seeing these days one needs to change it every day. Carrying forward can actually be counter-productive as a combination of dust and moisture gives rise to growth of bacteria and fungus,” said Dr RK Singal, head of internal medicine department, BLK super speciality hospital.
“Infected surfaces close to the airway can cause severe infection. It’s worse in case of developing fungal infection that is hard to treat and takes longer to respond to medicines. Also, medicines have their own side-effects,” he added.