Modi promises to oust 'non-serious' UPA govt

Finally anointed: Gujarat chief minister says BJP's agenda is to build the nation

Shortly after he was anointed as the head of the BJP campaign committee, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi asserted that he will leave no stone unturned to ensure the ouster of the “non-serious” United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the Centre.

Stating that BJP’s agenda is to build the nation and not “getting the chair”, Modi said people have lost trust in the UPA government led by the Congress. “It is the BJP’s responsibility to save the country from an “insensitive” government… You can neither expect anything from this government nor trust it… We are not out to grab power, we must win back the trust of the millions of Indians.”

In his virtual “acceptance speech”, Modi told the party workers, “It’s our responsibility to save the country from such an insensitive government”. He called for “Congress bhagao” (remove Congress.)

Attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Modi said the former had no answers when he questioned him on the Maoist issue during the internal security meet held recently in New Delhi.

Lambasting the Congress for various omissions and commissions, the Gujarat strongman said the Congress did not believe in democratic institutions, instead, it was out to destroy them.

He said the Planning Commission, in existence for over six decades and acting as a link between the Centre and the states, has been downgraded as the National Advisory Council chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been set up to function over and above the plan panel.

The NAC, he charged, had a member whose NGO’s member had links with Maoists. “I told the PM not just in the NAC, even in the Planning Commission there was a person who had been accused of colluding with Maoists. The PM had no answers,” he said.

Noting that the Congress-led government was so corrupt that it has become “corruption-proof,” he declared: “We will give a regime that is Congress-mukt Bharat Nirman.”

Without naming Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal, Modi wondered how he could he talk of bringing a law to curb match-fixing and betting when it was essentially a state subject.
Modi also paid tributes to party president Rajnath Singh, who announced his elevation. “I am confident that I will complete the task that has been entrusted to me by Rajnathji,” he said.

Noting that leaders who sacrificed for the party moulded him and pardoned his mistakes, Modi said “We are all party workers, we will do whatever duty has been assigned to us.” Modi modified Jaitley’s remark of “well begun is half done,” and said: “Well begun is half won.”

BJP president Rajnath Singh, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar spoke before Modi.