Staff Reporter
Sancoale
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a broadside at the Congress accusing its leaders of spreading negativity and insulting the Constitution for vote-bank politics and reassured Goans of continued support from the central government for its all-round development in future.
Addressing a massive meeting on the grounds near BITS Pilani in Sancoale, Modi said that Goa was a model of his party’s “saturation approach” to development and welfare. Saturation approach, he said, means the benefit of government schemes should be provided to all without any differentiation.
This was Modi’s second public meeting in Goa in less than three months and third in six months. In October last year, the Prime Minister was in the state to inaugurate the National Games and on February 6, he opened the international Energy Meet in
South Goa.
On electronic voting machines (EVMs), Modi said the Congress should apologise to the country for making false claims about the EVMs after the Supreme Court held that EVMs have strengthened India’s democracy.
He said that in the last ten years of regime, the country has seen a lot of development but that is not all. “It’s only a trailer, as there’s much to be done,” said Modi in his speech, his second on Saturday. The first speech was given in Kolhapur during a rally there from where he arrived in Goa late
evening.
“Modi is not born to (relax and) enjoy. Modi works day and night. Modi lives your dreams. Your dreams are Modi’s ‘sankalp’ (resolution),” he said. “You note down Modi Ki Guarantee, in the next year, three crore new pucca houses would be constructed for the poor,” he said.
Modi urged the crowd of nearly 50,000 people at the venue to vote for South Goa candidate Pallavi Dempo and his “purana saathi” Shripad Naik in North Goa.
Continuing on the Constitution issue, Modi said the statement of one of the Congress candidates in Goa on the Constitution of India has exposed the INDI alliance and that Congress has shown that they do not care about the Constitution of India. “Desh virodhi har taakat ko haraana hai…,” Modi said.
“Congress and other Opposition parties are trying to create negativity. For vote-banks, they are insulting our Constitution. Same thing the Congress candidate in Goa has done. It has exposed their hidden agenda. The Constitution does not matter to them,” said Modi. He also said that it is a conspiracy of the Congress to divide people for vote-bank politics.
Modi was referring to the recent statement of South Goa Congress candidate Viriato Fernandes. According to media reports, Fernandes’ statement that the Indian Constitution was forcefully imposed upon Goans when Goa was liberated from the Portuguese rule had created a major controversy ahead of the parliamentary polls.
Modi said the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) ideology is to fulfill aspirations of the citizens of the country and that INDI Alliance partners have come together with selfish motives and for their families.
Modi alleged that the Congress (if they come to power) is thinking of re-imposing Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. “Article 370 vapas laane denge kya,” Modi asked to which the huge crowd gathered at the venue replied in the negative.
Modi also remembered former Goa chief minister and former defence minister late Manohar Parrikar. “If he was here, he would have been happy. It would have been a happy moment for him,” said Modi, referring to the abrogation of Article 370.