15 sept 2013
Problem not on border, problem in Delhi, says BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi
Rewari, Haryana: Narendra Modi made a pitch for a Delhi posting at his first rally after being named the BJP’s presumptive Prime Minister for 2014, declaring in Rewari, 90 km from the capital, “It’s time for a change in Delhi, let that change start from here in Haryana.”
Attacking the Congress-led UPA over repeated incursions by China and Pakistan’s attacks on Indian soldiers along the Line of Control, Mr Modi said at the rally largely of ex-servicemen, “The problem is not at the border, the problem is in Delhi and so the solution must come from Delhi too.” Former Army Chief Gen (retd) V K Singh shared the stage with him.
The roar of a lion was played on the public announcement system amid much cheering as Mr Modi walked up to the stage. A huge photograph of the Gujarat Chief Minister and the Indian parliament formed the backdrop.
Mr Modi played to his 1.5 lakh strong audience in his 65-minute speech, punctuated only by the many glasses of water he stopped to drink on the hot September afternoon.
Politicians should learn a lesson in secularism from the armed forces, said the Gujarat Chief Minister, whose detractors often question his secular credentials. “Vote bank politics in India has become disgusting. I would like to tell the politicians who want to divide India into small groups… there is no bigger example of secularism than the armed forces,” he said.
He repeatedly saluted Indian soldiers, peppering his address with anecdotes, and the crowd, many people precariously perched on poles, roared in approval when he confided that he was more excited about being amid soldiers today than he was on Friday when his party announced him its candidate for PM.
He also promised that he would demand a white paper from the Centre on “one rank, one pension,” a key demand of ex-servicemen.
Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiothoracic Cardiac Heart surgeon India 