Some opposition leaders are lying machines, fire off lies like AK 47: PM Modi
New Delhi, Nov 3 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday while opposition parties were joining hands to protect their ruling dynasties, the BJP worked to change the country's destiny, as he dubbed some rivals as "lying machines who fire off lies like AK-47".
Modi asked BJP workers not to be concerned with the alliance of opposition parties, saying people do not accept them and even "hate" them for their negative works, refusal to recognise the country's good works and "abuses and insults" for the Army.
Though the prime minister did not name any rival, the BJP has been taking on Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his alleged lies to describe the Rafale deal as a scam.The party has also often accused Gandhi of insulting the country and the Army.
Modi's comments targeting the alliance of opposition parties came after a BJP worker sought his response during a video interaction on the coming together of "anti-national" forces like the communists and Congress whenever he takes a step to "protect" Indian values.
Responding to another question in the interaction with party workers of five Lok Sabha constituencies, he accused the opposition of telling lies against his government and said people now had many means to find correct information.
"Some leaders are like lying machines. Whenever they open their mouths, they fire off lies like AK 47," he said, asking Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers to unmask their lies by taking correct information to the masses.
Modi made a reference to a WhatsApp post in which, he said, media persons found that people attending a recent opposition's protests had little idea about the reasons for which they were raising slogans against him. They became a laughing stock, he said.
Some opposition leaders give many different figures in a day, Modi said in an apparent reference to different figures cited by Gandhi on the Rafale issue.
However, he said, people know the truth and if a party worker speaks to 100 persons his confidence will grow many times.
In a reference to his and the BJP-led state governments, Modi said while they were working to change the country's destiny, the opposition was concerned about its ruling dynasties.
Opposition parties are coming together as their leaders wanted to leave behind something for their sons, he said.
They fear what will happen to 200-500 dynasties if the BJP remains in power for five to 10 more years, Modi said, adding that these families have had a tight hold over the country since its independence.
"Due to this concern and to protect their dynasties, they have come together. They are concerned that they should leave something behind for their progenies," Modi said.
He was apparently referring to growing attempts among opposition parties like the Congress, the Left and many regional outfits to put up a united fight against the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Modi also asked party workers to stay updated with latest information about his government's works through his app and publicise it among the masses.
They should also compare the his government's works with the previous dispensations as people tend to forget about the past, he said.
Referring to the big jump India saw in its ease of doing business ranking and a slew of measures announced by him for the micro, small and medium enterprises, Modi said a "virtuous cycle" had begun and that India's potential was now leading to performance and progress.
It will then lead to higher potential, better performance and more progress, he said.
India's rankling in the ease of doing business had jumped to 77 from 142, and it was a recognition the country's development and reforms, the prime minister said.
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
