Pune, Jul 14 (PTI): Amid uproar over his remarks on 2002 riots, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today charged Congress with wearing the "burqa (veil) of secularism" and "hiding in a bunker" each time it is confronted with a crisis.
Addressing a public meeting here, Modi also attacked Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on the issue of his party's "failure" to eradicate poverty and alleged that it was raising the bogey of "threat to secularism" to throttle people's aspirations.
"Look minutely, whenever Congress is faced with a challenge- whether is corruption, price rise, directives from the Supreme Court, or a minister being jailed, or the rape of girls or an atmosphere of insecurity- they do not answer the people. The moment there is a crisis, they wear the 'burqa' (veil) of secularism and hide in a bunker," Modi said.
BJP has often charged the Congress with engaging in minority appeasement for votebank politics.
Modi said Congress follows this act by insisting that one should not talk about poverty or corruption or price rise at this juncture as "secularism is in danger". He charged that Congress has done this for decades.
The BJP leader said Congress will not be able to throttle the aspirations and hopes of the people in the name of secularism any longer.
"Congress will no longer be able to keep the poor hungry, or the young unemployed or distance itself when a girl is raped. Now this medicine will not work," Modi said.
Though Modi attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for failing to check the fall of the rupee despite being an expert on economics, he was more scathing on Rahul Gandhi.
Without naming Gandhi, Modi said the "heir" spends nights in the homes of the poor and shows this to the media and foreigners as "remnants of the past" when 35 years back Congress had given the slogan of removing poverty.
Modi said there is no limit to the corruption in the UPA government. "They have not left anything- air (spectrum), land, water," he said.
He charged that the Congress has made it impossible for the poor to have two meals a day but feels "serving a legal paper"- alluding to the Food Security Ordinance- will fill their stomachs.
The BJP leader criticised the government for taking the Ordinance route on this issue.
"The Parliament session is due in a few days. Government should have taken Parliament into confidence, have a healthy debate, remove its shortcomings and then passed a good Food Security Act. Why bring an Ordinance? Because they (Congress) have no trust in their UPA allies," Modi said.
He maintained that Congress did not wish to take the support of its allies on the Food Bill as they would also get credit for it.
"This is an insult of Parliament, of UPA allies and of the whole democratic process," he alleged.
Alleging that the Congress-led "government in Delhi" has "taken for granted" the people of this country, Modi said the root cause of problems being faced by the people is the dynastic politics of the ruling party in the last 60 years.
"Congress party feels that doing anything to win polls- be it appeasing this group or the other by giving them doles and doing votebank politics- is enough then they live a life of luxury for the next five years," he said.
Attacking the Congress-led government on the state of the economy and the devaluation of the Rupee, Modi said at the time of independence both the Rupee and the dollar had the same value.
He wondered why the Rupee is getting devalued when the currency of countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives has not fallen.
The Rupee is losing its power as the people in Delhi are busy in making and looting money that they are not concerned," Modi said.
Earlier News
Need modern, not Western, education: Modi
Pune, Jul 14 (Agencies): Stressing the importance of education in nation building, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Sunday said India needed modern education minus Westernization.
"Building human resource through education is critical for nation building. Post-independence, governments played no role in the educational system," Modi told students at the Fergusson College here.
"We need modernization, not Westernization of our educational system. I support modern education but not blind aping of the West."
Modi said the government needed to spend more on higher education.
"China prioritized education in its budget. In India, we dream of seven percent of our budget for education, but are stuck at four percent," Modi said.
"China allotted 20 percent of its GDP to its educational system as against India's which is barely 4 percent. We need to spend 25 percent GDP on education today," he added.
Taking a dig at UPA government's ambitious food security programme, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today said the Centre was under the impression that merely bringing in the Bill would lead to food reaching the needy.
"The government in Delhi thinks that just by bringing in the Food Security Bill, there will be food on your plate," Bharatiya Janata Party's election campaign chief told students of Pune's Fergusson College.
Modi said, "There is a sense of despondency in the country today" and stressed that there was a need to modernise India without westernising it.
"There is a need to nurture talent for nation building," Modi said, peppering his address with achievements made by the Gujarat government in education and other sectors.
Modi, who once again found himself in the eye of a storm over his recent "puppy" remarks in an interview to a news agency, interacted with students of Fergusson College where he had gone to inaugurate an amphitheatre.
Underlining that education plays a crucial role in a nation's development, Modi said, "If we want to have a good education system, we should create good teachers, which has not been a priority."
Stating that "there is a big difference between 'others' and us", Modi said, "Other people are interested in power. We give priority to empowerment. They want power, we want to empower every citizen of this country."
"I don't want to make any political statements here, but have the expectations from the system been fulfilled?" Modi asked.
"After Independence, had we opted for modern education, we could have done a lot in these 60 years," he said.
There is an atmosphere of "nirasha" (despondency) in the country today "(but) I don't endorse this view," Modi said. "It is essential that we get out of this view," he stressed.
"Over 65 per cent of our population is below 35 years of age. This tremendous youth power can be of use if there is someone to do the job," he said.
Contrasting the Indian and US education systems, Modi said that in the US system, ways are found to nurture a person's creativity.
Modi also spoke of the old gurukul system in India and how people from all over the world came to study at Indian education hubs like Nalanda.
"Earlier, education was a man-making mission. Now, it has become a money making mission. Was this our tradition?" he asked.
"Even when our country was in slavery, our great leaders thought of the education system. Could we not do any thing after Independence?" he said.
"We want modernisation, not westernisation," he said.
Modi cited the example of South Korea and lauded the strides made by that country.
"South Korea also gained independence at the same time. It is the size of Gujarat. Now, in this short span, it is among the developed nations. Such a small country hosts Olympics. Through sports, it has established a position in the world," he said.
"But in this country of 120 crore people, we auctioned the country in the Commonwealth Games. The CWG scam tarnished the image of the country. Is this the direction where we want to take the country?" he asked.
"When the government brings down the prestige of the country, then it becomes a matter of concern," he said.
"During Olympics, people often say that despite its huge size, we don't get medals. Have we linked sports with our education system," he said.
"If newly-recruited army jawans are given proper training, I am sure they will bring 5 to 10 medals," Modi said.
Modi dwelt on the strides made by China, which he said, in the 70s, decided to focus on human development.
"In 10 years from 2000, China, which did not have even a single university among the top varsities in the world, now has over 30 whereas India, which had two, now has only one. Why did this happen?" he asked.
"How did China do it? It spent almost 20 per cent of its GDP on education. Our government promised to spend 7 per cent but actually spent just 4 per cent," Modi said.
On the development in Gujarat, Modi said, "The change which we could not have in 50 years, we have brought in the last 10 years." Almost 45 per cent of the medicines made in India are produced by pharma companies in Gujarat, he said.
"The Indian government says that if there is one state where unemployment is low, it is Gujarat," he said.
"We have to emphasise on research which should not be only for displaying a certificate in the drawing room of homes but for nation building," he said.
"If a country does not give emphasis on research, there is stagnancy. Continuous innovation is a sign of life. Qualitative research is the need of the hour," he said.
"What is the state of the country today? There is no friend among our neighbours," he said.
There is a big vacuum in top officers' posts in armed forces, Modi said. He suggested training youngsters from eighth standard onwards to overcome the shortage of officers in armed forces.
Priority should be accorded to skill development, Modi said.
Modi said it was a thrilling experience to speak at the same hall where Veer Savarkar delivered his speeches.
"I got extreme vibrations about serving the country in this hall," he said.
Reaching out to the youths in the audience, Modi said, "I am very active on social media. I use Twitter and Facebook to connect with the new generation."
Talking about the potential of the country's youth, he said, "India's youngsters don't just wear
jeans... they think, they have fire in their belly. They have dreams and power.
"Despite difficulties, they have the zeal to do something. The future of a country where the youth are committed to doing something can never be dark," Modi said.
The BJP leader later interacted with students, who had thronged the venue in large numbers.