Prime Minister Narendra Modi came, spoke and drew cheers from the strong crowd that waited hours to see him at Zuarinagar in Sancoale on Saturday as he attempted, by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s admission, to help the BJP bridge the narrow gap between the Congress and BJP’s tallies in south Goa in 2019 and help the party win both the seats in the state.
In the 45-minute speech that he delivered, the Prime Minister spoke about how his model of ensuring 100% coverage of government flagship schemes like har ghar nal se jal, 100% LPG coverage, 100% electricity coverage, etc is the “true secularism” while he berated the Congress for indulging in ‘vote bank politics.’
According to the Prime Minister, the Congress was playing a ‘dangerous game’ of vote bank politics as he went on to repeat the contents of his speech delivered in several other parts of the country claiming that the party would take away reservations belonging to SC/ST/OBCs and give it to their ‘vote bank’, referring to Muslims, without directly saying so.
Similarly, the Prime Minister claimed that the opposition party would take away the inheritance of everyone in the form of inheritance tax. It didn’t matter to the prime minister that he was trying to "dangerously" polarise the electorate in a state known for its communal harmony and peace.
Nowhere in the Congress manifesto is the word inheritance tax mentioned, much less that the Congress promise of higher reservations for backward classes based on the caste survey that will be conducted will come at the cost of reservations for existing backward classes.
On the other hand, the Prime Minister completely ignored several burning issues that have repeatedly shown up as a top priority in prepoll surveys done by various agencies the topmost being that of jobs. The Prime Minister makes a promise of building 3-crore homes for the poor when he returns to power in the third term, but his speech is entirely silent on his previous promise of Rs 2-crore jobs per year, an area which is so crucial in Goa’s context because the State is facing an exodus of people to overseas pastures due to joblessness.
It is quite evident that when the Prime Minister taunts Congress candidate Viriato Fernandes for his demand for dual citizenship and comment on the Constitution, he remains completely silent on his partymen claiming that the BJP needs a 400+ majority to change the Constitution. The Prime Minister has accused the Congress of playing vote bank politics and Muslim appeasement but has not spoken a word about what is happening in Manipur.
On the flip side, Modi came and did his best at what he was called for – blow the Opposition to smithereens and uplift the BJP cadres. The PM’s visit has had no effect on the State at large, but has simply uplifted the mood and morale of the BJP workers on the ground, and created a ‘feel-good’ effect on the BJP vote bank. The repeated chants and the “cellphone light show” are testimony to the fact that Modi’s visit was intended to throw light on the BJP campaign and not usher in a shift in fortunes. To a large extent, the PM managed to do what he came here for.
