Ahmedabad, Nov 29 (DHNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told the people of Gujarat to not let the opportunity of benefitting from the rule of their man in Delhi slip and that when they elect the government of his party, the entire country's government would be at their service.
"It is the first time that you have got an opportunity that your man is sitting in Delhi. Gujarati never deals for loss. Do not let this opportunity slip away," he said in Morbi, the country's hub for ceramic industry.
Traditionally a BJP stronghold, Morbi in the Saurashtra region, has more recently emerged as an epicentre of agitation by Patels and on GST against the ruling establishment.
The prime minister, who addressed three rallies in Saurashtra region on Monday, was back in the region to address three more rallies at Morbi, Prachi in Somnath district and Palitana in Bhavnagar district, before travelling to south Gujarat for a rally in Navsari.
With the audience comprising of those involved with ceramic business, the prime minister did not forget to slam Rahul Gandhi's description of GST as "Gabbar Singh Tax".
Modi said that those who have looted the country could only invoke the name of dacoits. "Our government is open to suggestions and flexible. So when you said, we reduced GST on ceramics by 10%," he said.
The prime minister also tried to invoke his personal contact with the region, talking of the tragedy of August 11, 1979, when Machhu-2 dam burst, sending a wall of water through Morbi and killed scores.
"I reached here by August 13 and was here for a month. RSS and Sangh Parivar workers were on the streets, helping remove corpses and spreading the fragrance of humanity," he said, adding that the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, on the other hand, could be seen using a handkerchief to block out the foul smell.
He also refuted the charges made by former prime minister Manmohan Singh that as a chief minister Narendra Modi never raised the Narmada issue. "I think perhaps due to his age or pressure from the Congress he is saying that," he said.
The prime minister said that lack of availability of water has always been a major issue in the Saurashtra and Kutch region and that the BJP has changed the scenario by laying huge pipelines and bringing Narmada waters.
He went on to add that as a chief minister he fought against the might of the central government to bring Narmada waters. "I had to undertake a fast on the issue of Narmada. I shook the entire government at the Centre in three days of fasting and only after the court intervention could begin work," he charged.