I drank and digested the venom detractors spewed on me: Modi
On his first visit to his birthplace since occupying the top post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a roadshow and said the town had taught him to "drink and digest the venom’’ spewed at him over the years.
Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a medical college and launching an immunization programme, he recalled his journey from to Delhi from Gujarat, where he was the chief minister for 13 years from 2001
In an apparent reference to the attacks on him during his tenure as Gujarat CM after the riots of 2002 in the state, Modi said that he has managed to serve the nation with the blessings of Lord Shiva since 2001 despite some people "spewing venom" at him during these years.
“Vadnagar has taught me to drink poison,” he said, while noting that his birthplace is the land of Shiva, like Kashi (Varanasi), his Lok Sabha constituency.
At the B N High School, where he studied, he smeared sand from the premises on his forehead. Modi, as a child, sold tea at the Vadnagar railway station. "I started my journey from Vadnagar and now I have reached Kashi. Just like Vadnagar, Kashi is also the town of Bhole Baba. Bhole Baba's blessings gave me immense strength, and this strength is the biggest gift I have received from this land," he said.
Vadnagar is an ancient town which was once home to a Buddhist monastery and has a centuries-old Shiva temple. On the second day of his visit to poll-bound Gujarat, Modi held a roadshow here. A large number of people lined up to greet him.
There were chants of "Modi-Modi" and flowers were showered on him along the route.
Before inaugurating a newly-built medical college in the town, he visited the Hatkeshwar Mahadev temple where he performed puja along with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. "I am touched by the immense love showered by the people of Vadnagar. It has given me new energy to serve the nation with more zeal," Modi said.
"I saw many faces among the people who came to greet me. Those faces brought back many memories of my childhood," he added.