Modi targets Indira Gandhi, says 'garibi hatao' was false promise, bank nationalisation a fraud
Mandsaur (MP), Nov 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted the late Indira Gandhi on Saturday, saying her famous slogan 'garibi hatao' was a "false promise" and bank nationalisation was a "fraud" in the name of the poor.
Were not those who promised to eradicate poverty "liars", he said in a blistering attack on the Nehru-Gandhi family at a rally here ahead November 28 Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.
He also said if he gets half the time the Congress spent in power, he would bring about a transformation in the country.
Modi's remarks came in the wake of Congress president Rahul Gandhi's constant criticism that the BJP made "false promises" to the people in the run up to the 2014 polls.
Modi said the four generations of the Nehru-Gandhi ruled the country, but did not waste a single opportunity to "hoodwink" the people.
"Grandmother of the`Namdar' (dynasty), Shrimati Indira Gandhi, was prime minister of the country. Didn't she give the slogan of removing poverty 40 years ago?" he asked the gathering.
"Tell me honestly, has poverty been eradicated? Wasn't this a false promise? Weren't those who made the promise liars?" Modi asked.
The Prime Minister said that Indira Gandhi nationalised the banks "overnight" claiming that her government was opening their doors for the poor.
However, despite the nationalisation, half the people in the country had not seen the doors of the banks till 2014, he claimed.
"Wasn't it (nationalisation of banks) a fraud in the name of the poor?" he asked.
It was only after his government came up with the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana that the poor got access to the banking system, he said.
"It is true that we need some time to correct mistakes of five-six decades. I have got just four years. Even if I get half the time they (Congress governments) had, I will bring about a drastic change," the Prime Minister said.
Indira Gandhi had given 'Garibi Hatao, Desh Bachao' (remove poverty, save the nation) slogan during the 1971 general election campaign.
Before that, in 1969, her government had nationalised 14 commercial banks.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
