Modi praises NTR, slams T-formation process

Hyderabad, August 11: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday tried to lure the Telugu Desam Party to join hands in forming a non-Congress Government at the Centre after next elections.

“NTR not only fought for the Telugu pride, but also ensured the formation of non-Congress Government at the Centre. The biggest tribute to NTR would be a Congress-free Government,” Modi said while addressing “Nava Bharatha Yuva Bheri” rally. Stating that the Telugu Desam Party, which enjoys NTR’s legacy, he said that the party should take up the responsibility to achieve this goal. He called upon the non-Congress groups to join hands to defeat Congress in the State.

Speaking about Telangana, Modi accused the Congress-led UPA Government of mishandling the issue. He said that the Congress party has created difference between brothers. He said when Vajpayee Government formed Chattisgarh, there were celebrations in Madhya Pradesh. Similarly, people in Uttar Pradesh celebrated formation of Uttarakhand and sweets were distributed in Bihar when Jharkhand was formed. However, he said that the Congress has mishandled the issue to promote enmity between the people of two regions.

With regard to the proposal of making Hyderabad the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Modi said that the Centre should have created this process in 2004 instead of now asking the Seemandhra people to wait for their capital city for the next years. Stating that the BJP was in favour of Telangana, he said that the party was equally concerned about the welfare of Seemandhra people.

Modi appealed the people of both the regions to maintain peace and harmony. He said when lakhs of Telugus could live peacefully in Gujarat, then why Seemandhra people could not live in Telangana. He said there should be no hatred among brothers. He said development was the only solution for both the regions.

The BJP probable Prime Ministerial candidate slammed the Centre on several counts including Chinese intrusion, attack on Indian soldiers by Pakistan, suicides in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, Food Security Bill, corruption and other national issues.

Almost 1.5 lakh people purchased entry tickets of Rs 5 each to attend the public meeting. These proceeds would go towards the relief for Uttarakhand flood victims. Since the LB Stadium’s gates were closed due to over-crowding, thousands of people listened to Modi’s speech through the giant screens installed outside the stadium.

Modi began his address by reading out a Telugu script praying for growth and development of Telugus all across the world. Stating that the Gujarat and Telugus have old relations, he said that there were lots of Telugu medium schools in Gujarat. He tried to related himself with Hyderabad by saying that he shares his birthday, 17th September, with Hyderabad Liberation Day.

In a bid to copy US President Barack Obama’s election campaign, Modi ended his speech by asking people to repeat the slogans of “Yes We Can” and “Yes We Will Do.” Of course, he signed off by saying Jai Telangana and Jai Seemandhra.

Senior leaders including M Venkaiah Naidu, Bandaru Dattatreyya, State BJP President G Kishan Reddy and others also addressed the meeting.

- INN