PTI
RANGAPARA (ASSAM), MARCH 27
Warning that no bank defaulter will be spared, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused Congress of helping the rich usurp people’s money and claimed his government has “tightened the screws” on the “looters” who were now fleeing due to fear of going to jail.
Hitting back after his government faced criticism over handling of Vijay Mallya case, Modi alleged that Congress was opening banks for the rich during its rule and “its governments who have through these banks filled the coffers of the rich too will have to pay”.
“You know how the rich have usurped public money. My government has tightened the screws on the bank defaulters. They are sweating due to fear of going to jail and are fleeing. But no one will be spared I am telling you.
“The money looted from the banks does not belong to the banks but to the poor people of the country and I will ensure that those who looted this money return each and every paise... they have looted the country,” he said addressing an election rally in Assam for the second successive day.
Modi said various fiscal policies initiated by his government had done away with middlemen, ensured development and enhanced the country’s image internationally.
“The country was being run by middlemen. Since Modi assumed office, the middlemen have been forced to close shop. It is they who shout, accuse and abuse Modi but I don’t care.
“There will be no ‘acche din’ (good days) for the middlemen and so their problem with me is natural,” Modi said ina reference to his election slogan.
“You have enjoyed for 60 years by robbing the poor. Now, it won’t happen any more. So it is natural that you will have a problem with Modi. I am committed to ensure development and well-being of the nation,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said that more “than 40 per cent of the population had not seen the doors of the bank during the last 60 years” but his Jan Dhan Yojana has ensured that the poorest of the poor have their own bank accounts.
Besides, earlier the money lenders were active, charging high rates of interest and “sucking the blood of the poor but our Mudra Yojana has ensured that loans are given to the deserving at nominal rate of interest”.
“These policies and our agenda for development have enhanced the nation’s position in the international arena and now when I shake hands with global leaders, it is not with Modi that they shake hands but with the people of the country,” Modi said.
Modi a good actor, people like to see his acting: Gogoi
IANS
TITABAR (ASSAM), MARCH 27
Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused Tarun Gogoi of betraying the people of Assam for the last 15 years, the chief minister termed the BJP leader a “very good actor” and that people only love to see his acting but do not trust him.
“He (Modi) is definitely a very good actor. People love to see his acting and that’s why they listen to him. But that does not mean people trust him,” Gogoi said at a public rally in his home constituency of Titabar.
“Modi does not have the guts to fight against injustice done by the rich. He can only harass poor guys like Rohith Vemula and Kanhaiya Kumar. Who wears a suit worth Rs.15 lakh? I have never seen such a suit,” he said.
Stating that his childhood has been spent in the tea gardens and villages of the area, Gogoi said: “I have seen the people of the remote areas very closely. I can feel their pain, pleasure, their expectations...”
“We have not seen such a prime minister who does nothing but spreads misinformation.
“He mocked me as an old man. But let me say that I might be aging, but I still hold the strength to work for the people of my state. Even if I attain hundred years, I will still hold the power to work as a 50-year-old leader. This is the same reason for which people of Assam, irrespective of men and women, caste and religion, are with me. The victory of the Congress in Assam is obvious and unstoppable,” Gogoi said.
Modi, during his public rallies in Assam on Saturday and Sunday, said he respects Gogoi who will be turning 90 in the next couple of years.
“The BJP, which terms me an inefficient CM, awards me for development. A few months back, (Home Minister) Rajnath Singh, awarded me in a programme organised by India Today for remarkable achievement in the road and transport sector in the state.
“In a survey of India Today, it was also revealed that Assam, which was in the 19th position in terms of development among the states of India, has now proceeded to the seventh position.
“Likewise, the same BJP has awarded me for achievement in power sector in the state,” he said.
Gogoi said he does not have “any personal enmity” with Modi.
“But I am against his false promises and injustice towards the state. My people have elected me to power to fight for the state. I have to raise my voice for my state and I have to protest if there is injustice,” he said.
“Assam reels under floods every year. Last year, the state suffered twice. Hundreds died in the floods but the BJP-led government did not take up any initiative to solve the problem. They cut flood relief fund. Modi could not even take out time to visit the state and see the plight of the people,” Gogoi said.
PTI
GUWAHATI, MARCH 27
Stating that BJP has no credible leader in Assam, Congress General Secretary C P Joshi today claimed that poor response of people and thin presence in rallies of the Prime Minister in the state indicated that teh party was losing the Assembly elections.
“I am happy to see the poor response the Prime Minister is getting in Assam. I have watched his speeches in the rallies with thin audience. The body language of Modi and content of his speech indicate that BJP is losing badly in Assam,” Joshi said at a press conference here. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s rallies and ‘padyatra’ earlier this month at many places in Upper Assam had attracted a huge number of people and the response was overwhelming, he said.
“Our preparedness and public participation indicate that there is a Congress wave in the state. We’ll form government for the fourth time in Assam under Tarun Gogoi’s leadership,” he said.
Stating that BJP has no credible leader in Assam, Joshi said “Modi in 2014 Lok Sabha election campaigning had promised many things for Assam, which believed him and gave the party a chance with a minister in his cabinet. That minister is now BJP’s CM candidate.”
“Has Modi fulfilled any promise? Rather we have seen many U-turns in these two years,” he said.
The senior Congress leader said the Centre had failed to deport Bangladeshi infiltrators, did not accord ST status to six tribes and also did not provide jobs to the youths.
Modi was also renaming old schemes and launching those by taking undue credit.
Criticising Modi for mocking Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in his speeches at rallies, he said “Modi is a Prime Minister and head of the government. He is not BJP head.
He should speak with dignity while attacking a chief minister.”
As RSS did not take part in the freedom struggle, Joshi said, they now wanted to own Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Azad, Netaji and other freedom fighters.
