Both DMK and AIADMK are wasting their time blaming each other and are not bothered about the people of the State, said BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi during a campaign in support of Kanyakumari candidate Pon Radhakrishnan at Eelusaattupathu near Murugankundram, here on Thursday.
Addressing the crowd in the district which has a large chunk of minority voters, Modi said: “Tomorrow is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter. In such a trusty and holy environment, I’ve got an opportunity to visit Kanyakumari.”
He said that the ensuing election was a struggle being taken out by the people. “The Congress party has to face the consequences of its actions during its rule and cannot escape from the sins it has committed,” said Modi. He noted that Kanyakumari was one of the best tourism destinations in the country. “When tourism industry starts growing, flower sellers, taxi drivers, autorickshaw drivers, handicraftmen, pooja material sellers and even ‘chai vendors’ will also get more income,” said the BJP strongman.
At Ramanathapuram, addressing a rally seeking support for Kuppuramu, the BJP candidate for Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency, Modi said that fishermen in India were leading an insecure life due to the lackadaisical attitude of the Union government.
“Fishermen from Tamil Nadu are being tortured by the Lankan navy, while the Pakistan navy is targeting Gujarat fishermen. Had the Congress government been strong, other countries would not have dared to attack Indian fishermen,” he added.
Modi assured voters that the BJP would provide satellite information to fishermen to locate fish resources in mid-sea, if voted to power. He also promised to support traditional fishermen by promoting export of ornamental fish species to foreign countries, besides protecting the cracker industry in Sivakasi. At Erode, Modi sought to connect with the electorate by harping on local issues concerning the people.
Continuing to make the deficit electricity a key issue at the hustings, Modi claimed there was no load shedding in his home State of Gujarat.
He said Gujarat and the western districts of Erode, Tirupur and Coimbatore shared a strong relationship as the former was producer of cotton and the latter used cotton to produce value added goods.
“The Government failed to arrange Common Effluent Treatment Plants for the textile sector leading to the present mess,” he charged.