Take at Indira’s secular credentials
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi trained his guns on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he said that even though the PM had been representing Assam in the Rajya Sabha for several years “but it was only in 2008 that he thought of a vision document for North East”. Speaking at a function after presenting the “One India Award” to veteran activist from Arunachal Pradesh Nabam Atum, Modi also questioned the secular credentials of Indira Gandhi, the late Prime Minister, for having tried to woo the voters of North- Eastern States through a promise that the Congress would usher in a rule akin to that in the Bible. Launching a frontal attack on the late Prime Minister, Modi charged that Mrs Gandhi had indulged in blatantly communal vote bank politics, while campaigning for the Congress in North-Eastern States. “Among the many sins that late Indira Gandhi committed, I want to speak about just one of them which was indeed a big sin. The projection of her being secular leader notwithstanding, she promised the people of North East during electioneering that the Congress, if voted to power, would usher in a rule akin to the one in the Bible,” Modi said here on Monday. Modi also hit out at the Nehru-Gandhi family by covertly charging that it was behind the “distortion” of the rich history of people from the North East who fought for freedom from the British but claimed they were never honoured after Independence. “Had their sacrifices been recorded and generations that followed read about them, what would have happened to a particular family for whom history has been distorted,” Modi alleged, in a clear reference to the Nehru-Gandhi family. The Gujarat chief minister also contended that the Congress-led successive governments at the Centre had neglected the north-east over the years. “Even 50 years after India’s humiliating defeat at China’s hands, the government of India hasn’t made efforts to develop North-east. No nation can be complacent about its border areas but the Indian government seems to be over-complacent about the threat we face from China. Looks like we have not learnt any lessons from the 1962 war with that country,” Modi said. Singling out the Prime Minister for an attack, Modi said that Dr Manmohan Singh has been representing Assam in the Rajya Sabha for several years “but it was only in 2008 that he thought of a vision document for North East.” In his criticism of Singh’s performance as the Prime Minister, Modi said: “He (Singh) lacks the vision and gumption to run the country. Before he was the country’s finance minister, for the discovery, mining and processing of uranium there used to be a set budget for its extraction. But since he became the finance minister not even a rupee has been spent from that budget. And later, after becoming Prime Minister he tried to approach America for all these things”. “Today, if the entire world needs uranium someday, then these very northeastern states are the ones who hold some deposits of this chemical. Why shouldn’t this be pondered on and policies formulated in that direction? Why can’t we emerge as a nuclear power with our own resources? But sadly, there is no vision, or courage, though there is a pressure and problem here this needs to be understood and identified in order to change the current scenario,” Modi said. Modi said that had the Centre thought of setting up hydro power projects in North East, electricity shortage in the country could have been minimised to a great extent. “Water would have been an asset in North East and the economy would have thrived,” he said. He also pointed out that it was the NDA government that created a separate ministry for North East. “Had the NDA government lasted longer, it would have accomplished Sardar Patel’s unrealised dream of integrating North-East into national mainstream,” the Gujarat chief minister said. Recalling the suggestion he had made at a conference of chief ministers in Delhi, Modi said: “ I had suggested that 200 police jawans from each North East state be sent on deputation to Gujarat for two years. In such an event, the jawans from these states would have been exposed to a state outside North East and this would have strengthened the bond of the people. Inflow of tourists from Gujarat to North East would have grown”. “But my suggestion is still to be implemented despite all other chief ministers agreeing that my suggestion was good,” he added
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