‘Farmers are My Top Priority’: PM Modi At Bengaluru Rally

Karnataka is scheduled to go to polls in April-May 2018.

PM Modi addresses the rally at Bengaluru.

(Photo: PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a massive Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally at the Palace Grounds in Bengaluru on Sunday, 4 February, to mark the conclusion of the party's 90-day Nava Nirman Parivarthan yatra across poll-bound Karnataka.

Prime Minister Modi began his address by taking a jibe at Congress, saying that the crowd’s enthusiasm indicated a countdown to the Congress’ exit from Karnataka.

“We’ll make Karnataka Congress-free, we will drive the Congress culture away from the state,” he said addressing the rally.

Assuring the people that the BJP is not far away from taking over the state, Modi said that the party will speed up development and take Karnataka to new heights.

BJP government will work on the lines of reform, perform and transform. We will develop Karnataka’s infrastructure according to the requirements of the 21st century.

Narendra Modi

He said that Bengaluru will have 160km of suburban railway network worth 17 ,000 crore rupees, with the complete network spanning 28 stations, in a bid to aid 15 lakh commuters. The move is aimed at solving the traffic problem in Bengaluru.

Further, the prime minister laid out his road plans, saying that the BJP has set a goal to build more than 9,000 km-long National Highway this year. Under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, 35,000 km of roads will be constructed, he said.

‘Will Ease Lives of the Poor’

Modi further said that his focus will be to make the lives of the poor and farmers easy, reminding everyone that in this budget, his government has made a significant decision to get the correct price of crops for the farmers.

Farmers are my top priority, and by ‘TOP’ I mean ‘Tomato’, ‘Onion’ and ‘Potato’. If Yeddyurappa, son of a farmer, becomes CM of Karnataka, the projects for farmers will work at its best because he has the farmer’s best interest at heart.

The prime minister also addressed the problem of electricity in the villages, especially in Karnataka.

He said, “There will be chaos in Bengaluru if it doesn't get electricity for a day. However, there are 7 lakh homes in Karnataka and 4 crore homes in the nation which live in the dark even after so many years of independence."

Further asserting the government’s developmental work in the state, he said that Karnataka has been provided with about 1.85 crore free LPG connections. He also said that 34 lakh toilets have been built in the state under the government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan initiative.

Criticising Congress

Narendra Modi also threw punches at the Congress throughout his speech. He said that the Congress has not been able to benefit the state in any way.

The BJP have provisioned more than 180 percent funds for Karnataka as opposed to the Congress government, he said. “During the #Congress regime, #Karnataka got Rs 73,000 crore. However, we have provisioned Rs 2 lakh crore for it which is 180 percent more than what the Congress provided,” PM Modi added.

Referring to the alleged killings of RSS and BJP workers in Karnataka, he said:

<i>Yahan kanoon se zyada apraadhiyon ka raaj nazar aata hai (Criminals and not law governs the state).</i> World is discussing ease of doing business but here ease of murdering is being discussed. The one who opposes, ends up losing life. This is dangerous for democracy and shameful for the state government.

PM Modi also accused the Congress government of corruption.

There are serious allegations of corruption against Congress leaders...I have been told that Karnataka govt is being recognised as a ‘10% govt’, since no work is possible without 10% commission. Union govt has been repeatedly allocating benefits and money to Karnataka. But the city has not received any of it.

He also said that the Congress is trying to stall Triple Talaq as well as the OBC bill.

Elaborate Security Arrangements for the PM

"As the Budget session of Parliament was set for 29 January and the Union Budget was to be presented on 1 February, PM Modi could not attend the rally on last Sunday as he was busy then," a party functionary told IANS.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the rally at the sprawling venue in the city centre where the party is expecting at least one lakh people to attend and listen to Modi’s speech.

According toThe Hindu, a 13,000-strong police force has been deployed in the city to maintain law and order during the prime minister’s visit.

In the run-up to the state election, due in late April and early May, the BJP conducted the yatra, covering nearly all the 224 constituencies across the state after its national president Amit Shah flagged it off.

The yatra, held with a view to bringing the BJP back to power in the southern state, was led by its state unit president and former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and the party’s other state leaders.

Besides Shah, party's central ministers Prakash Javadekar and Piyush Goyal, who are in-charge of the BJP poll campaign in Karnataka, and Ananth Kumar, DV Sadananda Gowda and Ananthkumar Hegde, who hail from the state, will also participate in the rally and address the public.

(With inputs from IANS, The Hindu)