Ahmedabad, Oct 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that he would continue to “drink and digest the poison” of severe criticism and continue to serve the nation undeterred.
Modi, who was on his maiden visit to his hometown of Vadnagar after becoming the prime minister, said that it was here that he had learnt to drink “the poison”.
“I began my journey from Vadnagar with the blessings of Lord Hatkeshwar and have reached Kashi. Like Vadnagar, Kashi too is the land of Bhole Baba (Lord Shiva)... The lord’s blessings have given me the strength to drink and digest poison and I have been able to survive against those who have been spewing venom against me since 2001. It has given me strength to serve the motherland with dedication,” he said in a reference to the attacks against him after the communal riots of 2002 in the state.
His words also sought to strike a chord with the people of Gujarat to answer critics who have began a social media campaign on BJP’s main plank of development
by making viral memes and messages of ‘Vikas Gando thayo chhe’ (Vikas has gone beserk).
The BJP is trying to veer the election discourse towards development and has even launched a Gujarat Gaurav Yatra across 149 of the 182 Assembly constituencies in the state.
As on Saturday, the prime minister repeated his questions to the audience on Sunday, asking them whether they like the development being carried out.
Modi, who reached Vadnagar on Sunday as part of his two-day visit to poll-bound state, was accorded a grand welcome by the people of his hometown, who in large numbers welcomed him home, chanting his name and showering flowers.