RAIPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday pitched for development and focused on farmers addressing a poll rally to seek support for the BJP at Masasamund district, about 60 km from Raipur, in Chhattisgarh.
The PM gave credit to the BJP-ruled Centre that actually facilitated growth and development in Chhattisgarh under the leadership of chief minister Raman Singh.
"The people in Chhattisgarh offered BJP to serve the state thrice on issues of development. But the facilities to work for development for Raman Singh could be seen only during the last 4 years and a half. For his state the CM had to fight with the Congress-led UPA government, which was being run by a remote control, for ten years", he said.
'The UPA government didn't support Chhattisgarh in the battle against the naxalism when it comes to requirements of modern weapons, police forces or communication gadgets', the PM added.
"With the support of the people the Raman Singh government took Chhattisgarh, which was once ranked as BIMARU state carved out of Madhya Pradesh, to a higher trajectory of growth. And the state got the actual opportunity to grow only when BJP came to power in the centre", he claimed and added that Chhattisgarh will rank among the top three states in the country if such -"favourable-" situation prevails for the next 15 years.
Stirring-up the sentiments of the young and first time voters Modi asked them, 'would they like to live a troubled and painful life as their parents and grandparents had seen' as he accused the former Congress governments accountable for such distressed life and said, "They (Congress) ruled for four generations but couldn't bring welfare for the nation".
He accused the Congress of speaking lies, misleading the people and didn't do much for the farmers as compared to the BJP-ruled states. -"We have strengthened the agrarian community, taking them to modern farm practices and developed agriculture sector. We issued 16 crore farmer have been given soil health cards to enable them to enhance agriculture productivity and resolved their issues.
But during the Congress regime, there were scams. They didn't spare the farmers, looted the nation and now shedding crocodile tears", Modi said and further contended that the BJP in the larger interest of farmers implemented Swaminathan Commission report which Congress didn't accept when in power. Modi referred the people as guardian and protector for Chhattisgarh at a juncture when the state has attained 18 years and needs to properly taken care of for its bright future, aspirations and dreams.