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Addressing the ‘Namo Yuva Sammelan’ organised by the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the ruling BJP, Gadkari said the entire country was experiencing the change brought about by Modi.
The country did not progress under the Congress and the “mute” government of Manmohan Singh did not listen to citizens, he said.
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Sharad Pawar and the Congress had opposed the creation of MIHAN, a multi-modal passenger and cargo hub airport in Nagpur, which now was providing jobs to thousands of youth, Gadkari said.
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“The country is transforming and under PM Modi the country’s economy will be the third largest in the world in the next five years. India is transforming because of right policies and the right leader,” he asserted.
The Congress, from Pandit Nehru to Sonia Gandhi, only made false promises, while the country today was progressing on all sectors, credit for which goes to the people for removing the UPA government and bringing in the NDA dispensation under PM Modi, the Union minister said.
“It is time to make India the number one superpower. We need to remove poverty and unemployment, which is possible only when Modiji comes to power (again),” he said while urging party workers to go villagers and tell people that only the PM has the strength to change their future.
The BJP fulfilled its promises of abrogating Article 370 (which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir) and constructing a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, and the resolve now was to make India a superpower, Gadkari said.
“We (BJP-led National Democratic Alliance) will definitely cross 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,” Gadkari said.
Speaking at the event, Union minister Smriti Irani invited Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to a debate on 10 years of Modi rule and told him “maidan tum chunno, karyakarta hum chunenge” (you choose the platform, we will choose a functionary to represent the BJP).
Lauding the Modi government for welfare measures like bank accounts for the poor, toilets in homes, free ration to 80 crore citizens, 33 per cent reservation for women etc, Irani said any BJYM worker was capable of defeating Gandhi.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed happiness at youth from across the state converging at the event with the resolve to make Modi PM for the third consecutive time.
“Garibi hatao was a slogan coined by then prime minister Indira Gandhi but it was brought into action by PM Modi. As per the NITI Aayog, 25 crore people were brought out of poverty (under Modi rule),” Fadnavis said.
He said the country will not look back if Modi becomes PM again and asserted it would not be a win just for the BJP but for every citizen.
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said Congress rule was seeped in corruption, whereas the youth, who were fighting for change, played a major rule in ensuring Modi’s victory.
Ten years of the Narendra Modi government was ending poverty and terrorism, asserted Surya, who is the president of the BJYM.
He attacked Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray for dynastic politics.