Journalism of Courage
Narendra Modi fired up a cheering crowd of BJP workers at a public rally at the end of the partys national executive here on Friday,pitching himself as a direct challenger to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,and bringing into sharp focus the BJP leaderships increasing unease with his style.
Kaun aaya,kaun aaya,Gujarat ka sher aaya (Here comes the lion of Gujarat), roared the crowd as the
Gujarat chief minister arrived for the rally,marked by the absence of senior leaders L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj. As Modi started to speak,Arun Jaitley left the venue.
Indeed,the signals were obvious despite the fact that the party maintained all day that Advani and Swaraj were pre-scheduled to return to Delhi by this afternoon,and that nothing should be read into their absence.
At the Kaamgaar Stadium in Lower Parel this evening,Modi dwarfed all those on the dais,including Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh as he sought to widen the leadership canvas for himself.
Connecting instantly and powerfully to the crowd of party workers,Modi compared the UPA government to Nirmal Baba,the controversial television guru.
Nirmal Baba kehte hain,rasgulla khao,kripa ho jayega (Eat rasgullas,you will be blessed), Modi said.
This UPA government is like Nirmal Baba. It has only made empty promises that will never get fulfilled. Nirmal Baba is a fraud,and this government is also playing a fraud on you, he told the crowd.
Modi challenged the Prime Minister to produce facts and figures to back his claims on the UPAs three-year report card. Singhs excuse that he was bound by coalition compulsions was hollow,Modi said.
At the meeting of the UN general assembly your foreign minister read another countrys speech. Was that because of coalition compulsions? he thundered as the crowd cheered. The defence minister belongs to the Congress. The Prime Minister belongs to the Congress. There was a near confrontation between the Army and the government recently,was that because of coalition compulsion? he asked.
Your Army Chief says that there are no arms and ammunition to fight if the country is invaded. Show me,where is the coalition compulsion in this?
Gujarat,Modi said,had achieved 11 per cent growth in agriculture,and taunted the Centre for projecting the increase from 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent as a major achievement. You tell me,do you want a government which gives you only 3.5 per cent growth in agriculture? he asked.
