'Shocked to see Trans Yamuna'

Modi slams Cong govt for ‘neglecting’ certain areas

In a bid to snatch the East, North-East and North-West Delhi parliamentary constituencies from Congress, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the ruling party for no development in interior Trans Yamuna areas. 

“I was shocked to see the condition of areas in Trans Yamuna. Aren’t residents of this area human beings? They need basic amenities, which the Congress government has failed to provide in 15 years of its rule in Delhi,” he said. Citing the unused Nirbhaya Fund and funds for minority welfare, Modi accused the Congress-led UPA government for failing on all fronts. 

While addressing a rally at Shastri Park here – a Muslim dominated area – Modi attacked Congress for making false commitments to the community.

“For the welfare Muslims, Congress launched a scheme for special packages for areas where Muslim population is more than 40 per cent. Recently, to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha, Congress party replied that in the last three years not a single Muslim youth has got a job through the scheme,” Modi said. 

He came down heavily on the government for failing to prevent rapes. “Many cases of rapes are being reported from Delhi. The December 16, 2002 Nirbhaya rape case shook the entire country. The Congress government said it will create a fund to prevent such incidents and the Nirbhaya fund was created with Rs 1,000 crore,” he said.

“In the vote on account passed for this year, the government passed Rs 100 crore for it (the fund), but they have not spent a penny for women’s security from this fund,” he said. 

All seven BJP candidates from Delhi for the parliamentary elections, veteran BJP leader V K Malhotra and other senior party members shared the dais with Modi. 

Glitches at the rally 

Modi arrived at the venue an hour and 20 minutes late. In the meantime, BJP leaders tried to keep the crowd busy with their speeches. The party’s candidate from East Delhi Manoj Tiwari, who is a Bhojpuri actor and singer, entertained the crowd with songs. 

When Ramesh Bidhuri, party candidate from South Delhi, was addressing the gathering, some connection failure turned off the loudspeaker. 

Immediately, the organisers rushed to repair the system. It remained silent for over five minutes, which triggered panic among BJP leaders. But the support staff rectified it soon.