Bringing the Prime Minister again in the line of fire, Narendra Modi on Monday said he is “maun (silent) Mohan Singh” who shows no concern over rising prices and plight of the poor people.
“On Sunday Maun mohan Singh had visited Himachal Pradesh and on Monday the biggest news in the papers is that Maun mohan Singh broke his silence in Himachal Pradesh. It is impossible to guess what he thinks about the country’s situation,” Mr. Modi said addressing an election rally in Mandi.
The Gujarat Chief Minister also accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi of not dealing with the issues of price rise and poverty.
“Few days back Soniaji had come to Mandi. Prime Minister also came. I would have been happy and satisfied had Prime Minister and Soniaji expressed their worries about poor people. They should have spoken at least once on the issue of price rise and poverty,” Mr. Modi said.
“Can I ask you all a question? Have these two people spoken over inflation. It is a big national issue. Is it not the responsibility of the Prime Minister to speak on this...They should have said that prices will come down someday,” he said.
The BJP has frequently attacked the PM for what they call his “silence” over crucial issues like price rise and corruption.
This has been debunked by the Congress and the government who argued that the PM regularly interacts with the media, even addresses public rallies and is on the social media as well.
This is not the first time that Mr. Modi has mocked at Dr. Singh. Recently when the British government ended its 10-year boycott of Gujarat, the Chief Minister said even the United Kingdom saw the value of his state which the PM refuses to acknowledge.
Stating that Congress does not care about the sentiments of the people, Mr. Modi said, “Congress government is full of pride. They don’t care about people’s feelings. They walk their own way and believe that the world is in their bag.”
Attacking Congress over the issue of capping cooking gas cylinders, he applauded the P.K. Dhumal-led BJP government in Himachal for its decision to provide free stoves to the poor.
“They took away gas cylinders from you. Generally a family needs 24 cylinders per year... I want to felicitate P.K. Dhumal, who without any support from Delhi, has ensured free stoves to every family. This is a humane step,” he said.
Mr. Modi also said the issue of capping cooking gas cylinders will destroy the Congress party. Waving a stove during his address, he said, “This is not a stove, but a slap on the face of Congress. This will destroy the entire Congress.”
Mr. Modi said his government in Gujarat had promised Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to seven lakh people. “But Congress people got to know it and became worried. The Government of India introduced a law that only the central government can lay down gas pipelines and no state government can do it,” he said.
He also said that 20 lakh people in Gujarat would have got piped gas today resulting in saving of three crore cylinders. It would have also saved a subsidy of Rs 15,000 crore.
“But, I am not the one who will remain silent. I have knocked the doors of Supreme Court,” he said.
Describing Himachal Pradesh as his second home after Gujarat, he said, “I have worked here for a long time and I am familiar with every nook and corner.”
The chief minister said people in both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat were working for defeat of Congress. “The way you are working to uproot Congress here, people in Gujarat are also doing the same,” he said.
Mr. Modi said the whole world was talking about development in Gujarat and people were saying Gujarat has done wonders. “If people in Himachal Pradesh come to know the mystery, their fate will shine,” he said.
The BJP veteran said that the six crore people in Gujarat have done a wise thing -- ensuring political stability.
Political stability ensures responsibility of a political party towards the people of the state, he said, adding if the government keeps changing, there is no space for asking questions. “Gujarat has elected me thrice,” he pointed out.
“If I have brought any message from Gujarat for the people of HP, that is not to experiment with changing governments in the state...I request the people to elect a BJP government again and I promise you that the development seen in Gujarat will be witnessed in HP also,” he added.
