Vadodara, April 21 Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Jagdish Vishwakarma on Tuesday criticised comments by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “terrorist”, stating that the remark amounted not just to a personal insult but to an insult to 140 crore Indians.
Speaking at ‘Vikas Sankalp Sabha’ events held at Karjan and Dabhoi in Vadodara district as part of the party’s campaign for the local self-government elections, Vishwakarma said, “Congress President Kharge calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a terrorist is not just a personal insult, but an insult to 140 crore Indians,” and urged people to give an appropriate response to the Congress.
Vishwakarma also addressed broader political issues, stating that under Modi’s leadership, “the benefits of development have reached not only Gujarat but the entire country.”
He added that nearly 30 years ago, the state faced significant challenges, but “under Modi’s leadership, Gujarat has established new benchmarks of development, and now the country is moving forward on the same path”.
Referring to past water scarcity, he said: "Earlier, people in Saurashtra and Kutch were forced to migrate due to water shortages, but today, under the BJP government, water has been supplied to every corner of Gujarat."
Criticising the Congress, he stated that the party “did not grant permission to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam for years, causing hardship to many people”, and added that after Modi became Prime Minister, “approval was granted within 17 days”.
Highlighting measures for farmers, Vishwakarma cited the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, tractor subsidies, the Kisan Suryodaya Yojana, “a Rs 10,000 crore package during excessive rainfall”, and “procurement worth Rs 15,000 crore at support prices”.
He reiterated the party’s stated approach, saying, “‘Where there is a human, there are facilities’ has always been the BJP’s policy. Schemes including Ayushman Bharat, toilet construction, Nal Se Jal, 24-hour electricity supply, and the Ujjwala scheme."
He further said that “under the PM Surya Ghar scheme, solar panels have been installed on more than 10 lakh homes in the state”, adding that this had contributed to strengthening households in the energy sector.
On local development, he referred to the commencement of train services to Dabhoi and described investment summits as significant for industrial growth.
Vishwakarma also said that the Congress had opposed several decisions taken in what he described as national interest, including the Ram temple construction, abrogation of Article 370, implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and 'Digital India' initiatives.
"Whether it is the issue of halting the Sardar Sarovar dam or the recent controversial statement by Kharge calling Gujaratis uneducated and foolish, Congress has always been anti-Gujarat," he said.
--IANS
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