PM targets Congress, Naidu, HDK in South
■ ‘ For Cong, defence about brokering deals’
Chennai/ Hubbali/ Guntur, Feb. 10: Attacking the Congress for scams in defence sector and looting the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the honest trust him but the corrupt have a problem as he has ensured that benefits meant for the poor reach them directly.
On a whirlwind tour of three southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for inaugurating several development projects, Mr Modi tried to reach out to defence personnel by blaming the Congress for weakening the armed forces, doubting the surgical strikes and tarnishing the Army’s image by circulating theories that the then Army Chief V. K. Singh had planned a coup in 2011- 12.
He also used his public rallies to sharpen political attacks on rivals by calling Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu a “back stabber” and referring Karnataka chief minister H. D. Kumaraswamy as a punching bag of ally Congress. He slammed the Grand Old Party for
reducing the latter to a “mazboor ( helpless)” head of the coalition government.
At a rally at Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur, Mr Modi lashed out at the Congress governments for ignoring the defence sector and accused party leaders of “brokering deals and helping their friends.
“Those who ruled so far used the defence sector to loot. The previous Congress governments helped brokers. Every middlemen caught had a link with some or the other Congress leader,” he said.
“From the seas to the skies, the Congress has several scams associated with the defence sector and in the process the party did not allow the modernisation of defence forces for long years that
■ Continued from Page 1 they were in power,” Mr Modi said. Claiming that his government has ensured modernisation and self- sufficiency of the defence forces, the Prime Minister said, “While the BJP implemented One Rank One Pension scheme for the armed forces, “unpardonable comments” were made against an Army chief and Congress leaders belittled soldiers and doubted the surgical strikes.”
“An Army coup would never happen in India,” Mr Modi said, a comment that comes days after Union minister and former Army Chief V. K. Singh wrote the PM seeking a probe into the alleged circulation of false stories about an attempted coup during the UPA- II government in 2012.
On arriving in Andhra Pradesh, Mr Modi, his first visit since chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu- led Telugu Desham Party ( TDP) severed ties with the NDA, faced the anger of TDP protesters who wore black shirts and shouted “Modi go back”.
Slamming the TDP chief for leaving the NDA and joining hands with the Congress during the recent state polls, Mr Modi accused Mr Naidu of betraying and backstabbing his father- in- law N. T. Ramarao ( NTR).
Addressing a public gathering in Guntur, Mr Modi said Mr Naidu is only interested in securing the future of his son.
Addressing a rally at Hubbli in Karnataka, the Prime Minister said that honest people trust him but the corrupt have a problem. “This Pradhan sevak, this chowkidar ( ensures) that the benefits meant for poor are going directly to their accounts. That is why the honest have trust on Modi while the corrupt have a problem,” he said.
He said those who have worked as middlemen in areas including deals concerning national security for illegal gratification are facing the music now.
In an apparent reference to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s brotherinlaw Robert Vadra and former Union minister P. Chidambaram’s son Karti appearing before the ED in alleged money laundering cases, Mr Modi claimed that questioning of such high and mighty could never have happened earlier.
“Those whose incomes people did not dared to talk about earlier, are now appearing before courts ( and) agencies,” he said.