Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal has declared that he is ready to take on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi in the Lok Sabha elections, but he will do so only if “the people want” it.
He was addressing a rally here on Sunday, the second day of his tour of the Lok Sabha constituencies in and around Bangalore. It was attended by a large number of supporters, all wearing the AAP’s caps. Mr. Kejriwal said he would gauge the people’s support at a rally the AAP plans to hold in Varanasi on March 23. “I will do whatever the people say.”
“It is not a small contest. I have little aukaad [stature], no money and no people,” he said. “But I would consider myself fortunate to make sacrifices for the nation, as Bhagat Singh did.”
Speaking in Hindi in his trademark style that alternates between sardonic humour and references to himself as the common man, he spared the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate no criticism and spoke of the media’s “propaganda of falsehood” in their portrayal of Mr. Modi’s development model.
“For a year, the media have tried to show that Gujarat has progressed under Modiji. So I decided to see the progress for myself. But what I witnessed in my 10-day visit shocked me. Farmers complain that their land is being grabbed for being handed over to industries for just Re. 1 a metre. Modiji represents the old school crony capitalism,” he said.
“Nothing happens without bribes... But we have to give it to Gujarat for being transparent about corruption — at least bribes have a fixed rate,” he said.
‘Political graveyard’
PTI reports from Patna:
Taunting the decision of the BJP to field its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, RJD president Lalu Prasad on Sunday said it would prove to be a “political graveyard” for Mr. Modi. “What do you think of Varanasi. It’s a completely secular place. Narendra Modi is going to be defeated there. It will prove to be his political graveyard,” Mr. Prasad said.
Hindu
No comments:
Post a Comment