HARIDWAR/ PTI
Noting that next five years are as vital for Uttarakhand as they are in the growth of any 16-year-old, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked people to vote out the government which had “tainted the name of Devbhoomi” and replace it with one that could translate Atal Bihar Vajpayee's vision for the state.
“The sixteenth year is very important in the life of everyone because the next five years determine the shape of things to come. So is the case of Uttarakhand in the 16th year of its existence.
“The next five years will determine the direction in which it is going to move,” Modi said addressing the party's Vijay Sankalp rally at Rishikul Maidan here.
He said corruption in Uttarakhand does not need to be proven in the courts of law as it is something which the entire country has seen on the television.
“There was a time when the mention of Devbhoomi evoked sacred feelings but it is no longer so.
“Now, the mention of the word brings to mind images of a tainted government. The entire country has seen it all on TV,” he said.
Modi was apparently referring to an alleged sting operation in which Chief Minister Harish Rawat was purportedly seen negotiating a deal to buy support of disgruntled party MLAs during the political crisis last year.
“Won't you vote out a government which sullied the reputation of the abode of God,” the Prime Minister said.
Asserting that he had taken up the task of translating Vajpayee's vision of Uttarakhand into a reality, he asked urged them to install a BJP government which restores Uttarakhand's honour.
Talking about demonetisation, Modi said some people are still not able to sleep and are very upset because all their black money business is now accounted in banks.
“From where did it come, how much came and who brought it and how, all that is before cameras now. That is why such people are sleepless now,” he said.
“This country has been looted for 70 years. Can anyone deny this? Has it been looted or not. Whatever position one got, they worked hard to secure it and looted. They were in the habit of looting and black marketing.
“I have launched this crusade against corruption and black money. All that they have looted from the poor, I have to return it to them,” he said.Modi said he had vowed to fulfil the dream Vajpayee had seen for Uttarakhand as the government which followed him at the centre derailed that process.
Highlighting the step taken by his government to streamline 'chardham' pilgrimage, he pointed to the launch of a Rs-12,000 crore all-weather roads project so that anyyone who comes visiting the Himalayan shrines enjoys his trip and returns home safely.
Launching a frontal attack on Chief Minister Harish Rawat without taking his name, Modi said despite being a minister at the Centre and from a state where every mother sends her son to the armed forces , he did nothing to speed up the implementation of OROP, which was hanging fire for decades.
Alleging that UPA alloted Rs 500 crore for OROP implementation to mislead ex-servicemen, Modi said his government made a realistic estimate of Rs 12,000 crore out of which it had already paid Rs 6,000 crore.
“This is how promises are made and kept,” he said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rawat poses five questions to PM
DEHRADUN: Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Haridwar on Friday to address an election rally, Chief Minister Harish Rawat took to Twitter to welcome him and simultaneously posed five questions to him, including why he had not offered an apology yet for the imposition of President's Rule in the state.
He also asked the Prime Minister who the BJP's chief ministerial candidate was for the February 15 polls.
Rawat asked the PM how BJP was going to deliver on its promise of giving a corruption-free government to the state with “tainted” defectors from the Congress adorning the party's ranks.
The Chief Minister also asked the PM how he would make up for the loss borne by farmers, labourers and small businessmen due to demonetisation and when he was going to fulfil the promises made during the 2014 General Election.
