Modi targets Congress, says he understands Farmers’ Pain

Assuring the people that his government will live up to their expectations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the previous Congress-led UPA regime of not having right intentions and causing distress to farmers.

Addressing a rally here on the first day of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national executive meeting, he sought to dismiss opposition’s criticism of the land acquisition bill while listing achievements of his government since it assumed power in May last year.

Referring to his own humble origins, Modi said he fully understood the pain of farmers and the poor.

Without naming the Congress during his over-hour-long speech, he attacked it repeatedly, while stressing his government was taking quick decisions to ensure faster economic development.

Noting sometimes a government’s intentions were more powerful than its policies, he said his government had been facing criticism that it was following the United Progressive Alliance government’s policies, but the question was of intentions.

“Whatever your policy, your intention was not right, ours is. Hence we have gone ahead in the race of development,” he said.

Accusing the opposition of spreading falsehoods on the issue of black money, he said his government had taken several initiatives to curb black money including forming a special investigation team and bringing a bill in parliament on illegal money stashed abroad.

“I have made you a promise to curb corruption. I will fulfil it,” he said, adding there was an atmosphere of despondency during 10 years of UPAs’ rule but now things had taken a positive turn.

“It seemed the country had deviated from its direction…At such a juncture, the people of country expressed their faith in Bharatiya Janata Party and gave it a chance to serve them with full majority.”

“The faith with which you have posed in our team, we will fulfil it and prove good on every parameter.”

Modi said over Rs.200,000 crore had already come to the public exchequer due to auction process for coal blocks followed by his government,

Noting this was realised from auction of only 20 blocks out of the 204 whose allocation was cancelled by the Supreme Court, he said: “When the others will be auctioned, how much more money will come.”

Referring to the controversy faced by UPA in spectrum allocation, he said over Rs.100,000 crore had come to the exchequer due to auction of spectrum during his government.

On the land bill, Modi said there had been injustice with villages during years of Congress rule and the farmers needed irrigation, roads and uninterrupted power supply.

“I am a man who is connected to the ground,” he said, adding he had spent his life among farmers and the poor and “understood their pain fully”.

Claiming farmers were forced to sell their land to pay bribes for lowly government jobs for their children, he asked: “They had been forced to pay bribes. Should they get protection or not.”

Modi also said his government had taken several initiatives to boost agricultural productivity. (IANS)