Congress CMs are a fading species: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Dedicating the wins in the north-east to BJP-RSS workers who died in political violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took a dig at the Congress, saying Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy would soon be the sole chief minister of the party.

When a species dies out, some samples remain, he said. “Congress can say it also once had chief ministers,” Modi said. He then took a shot at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying there were some leaders whose post was upgraded (Rahul became party president recently) but stature was degraded.

He said BJP president Amit Shah had led the party to success. “I have seen him since his student days and one feels proud to see the party going from success to success. BJP under him has showed that you can achieve success through organisation building,” Modi said.

After a two-minute pause for azaan from a mosque near the new BJP office, Modi observed silence for the victims of political violence, an issue that BJP and RSS have raised up in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala. “Several of our party workers sacrificed their lives in the violence unleashed by politicians of the Left and Maoist ideology. Poorest of the poor tolerated the atrocity with resilience and they have aptly answered with vote against the chot (wounds),” said Modi.

Modi said the candidates in Tripura were probably among the youngest in the country, a move in the direction of the party’s plan to hand over leadership. “We have a political baal-sena in Tripura... some candidates were so young we had to check their birth certificates,” he said.