Gujarat Gives A Fitting Reply To Kharge’s Name Calling During Modi Visit

It was one of those regular visits PM Narendra Modi makes to his home ground, Gujarat. However, on October 30 when he arrived to lay the foundation for development works worth Rs 14,000 crore in Bhildi town in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district, it was different. It was a roadshow. Modi travelled in an open jeep, accompanied by chief minister Bhupendra Patel and deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi, from the helipad to the Banas Dairy plant in the village.  People gathered in large numbers on both sides of the road to greet him. Modi waved at the crowds, who shouted his name and raised various slogans. However, the most interesting bit was that they also carried placards bearing the slogan, “Jab tak Bharat viksit nahi hoga, Modi kahin nahi jayega” (Modi will not go anywhere till India becomes self-reliant). Another placard read, “Modi will not go anywhere till India becomes one of the top economies of the world”. The placards were clearly responding to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s recent remarks made in Patna, Bihar that even “Modi’s father will have to go”. The Congress leader had dragged in Modi’s father in the party’s desperate bid to oust the BJP from power at the Centre. It was interesting to see a poll-bound Gujarat rally behind Modi. Of course, PM Modi is too pre-eminent to be endorsed by just one state or community; he transcended limitations of state boundaries and is accepted across the nation. Meanwhile, Modi will be attending the Ekta parade in Ekta Nagar, Kevadia on October 31 to mark Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary.