Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in single-handedly raising India’s profile across the globe, BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that prior to PM Modi, India had been “pushed to a corner” and had never received any respect from the United States.
During a public address in Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad), Mr. Fadnavis took on Congressman Rahul Gandhi, remarking that at a time when the U.S. president was hailing Mr. Modi, the former Congress MP was going there and making remarks about the alleged death of Indian democracy.
“Today, Australia’s PM says ‘Modi is my boss’ and U.S. lawmakers queue up for Modiji’s signature… Papua New Guinea’s PM touches Mr. Modi’s feet and seeks his blessings. Did India get this kind respect before?” said Mr. Fadnavis.
Stating that Mr. Modi’s joint address to the U.S. Congress was received with “rapturous applause”, Mr. Fadnavis observed that the PM’s speech received no less than 15 standing ovations and 79 rounds of applause.
“This is not just respect for Modiji, but for India which it previously never received… Our country used to be pushed to a corner, but today, the U.S. president hails Modiji as the world’s hope,” said the Maharashtra Deputy CM.
“Unfortunately, our prince Rahul Gandhi goes to the U.S. and says Indian democracy is dead…Fortunately, we [the BJP] did not have to give him any answer. The White House spokesman issued a press note saying India was a vibrant democracy and was not only alive, but more prosperous as well,” said Mr. Fadnavis.
Criticising the June 23 meeting of Opposition party leaders at Patna, Mr. Fadnavis said the Opposition had no agenda of development nor did they have a single leader comparable to Mr. Modi’s stature.
“We [the BJP] will give you [Opposition parties] Maharashtra for six months… Just select one leader from all of you. In reality, there is only one leader who can hold this country together and raise it to heights of development and that is Modiji,” he said.
He again took aim at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar, criticising the latter for not accepting the name change of Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar.
“Pawar saheb does not accept the name change from ‘Aurangabad’ to ‘Sambhajinagar’. He said you may change yet he would insist on calling ‘Sambhajinagar’ as ‘Aurangabad’ Whatever you say, you can never erase the sacrifice made by Chhatrapati Sambhaji [who was killed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb] from our hearts and minds,” said Mr. Fadnavis, addressing a rally in Sambhajinagar on occasion of the ninth year of the BJP government at the Centre.
Chhatrapati Sambhaji was brutally murdered by the Mughal Aurangzeb in 1689 when the latter had invaded the Deccan with the aim of crushing Maratha resistance.
It was late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray who had first raised the issue of renaming Aurangabad, founded by Aurangzeb, to Sambhajinagar in the late 1980s which saw the Sena come to power in the civic polls amid much rioting.
The name change was finally effected only recently when the Eknath Shinde-Fadnavis government came to power in June last year.
