Chennai: BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Sunday slammed the Congress party for conducting ‘slum tourism’ during poll times with its leaders visiting slums to have photographs taken with the poor people and even sharing their meals.
“They think of the poor only at election time. Visiting the slums has been tourism destination for the Congress, just like the others go to Taj Mahal”, he told a large election rally here.
“On the other hand, I was born in a poor family and sold tea in trains. I know what poverty is. I had seen poverty in my young age, lived with it, grew up with it and even experienced it while studying. Poverty has taught me to serve the poor just as a service to God, whereas the Congress leaders are born with silver spoons and they do not know what poverty is”, Modi said.
Slamming both the Dravidian majors, he said both the DMK and the AIADMK had “taken the people for granted” and wasted precious time during their administration in the state only to settle scores with each other. They are not worried about the welfare of the people. The time had come for them both to “give up their games and answer to the people”.
Now the BJP had emerged as a third force by forging alliances that would “change the fate of Tamil Nadu” as people got an alternative, Modi said. This alliance will bring in a new hope and confidence to the people of Tamil Nadu, he said promising to deliver on various issues concerning the state such as attacks on fishermen.
Repeating his taunt on P. Chidambaram as ‘recounting minister’ (with reference to his 2009 Sivagangai poll), Modi said the Congress leader and all his state party colleagues had fled the poll as “they lacked the confidence to face people’s anger” over the non-performance and high corruption of the UPA governments.
“I wish to ask the recounting minister why not a rupee has been given to the victims even though Rs 1000 crore had been announced one year ago for the Nirbhaya Scheme”, he said.
The BJP leader referred to the Siachen issue raging on the social media and demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh explain the truth to the nation. He said a strong and determined government was the need of the hour as small countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh were poking the country and they have to be met eye-on-eye and dealt with strongly.
On the recurring attacks on fishermen, he charged the UPA Government with lacking courage to protect the fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat who were were being “harassed” by Sri Lanka and Pakistan. “People from Italy come kill our fishermen and go back,” he said apparent reference to the shooting to death of two Keralite fishermen by Italian marines.
