“Neta aasman se nahi tapak te hain...woh bhi isi society se aatey hain (Netas do not fall from the sky. They too come from the same society as everybody else),” BJP national president Nitin Gadkari said here on Thursday.
Referring to corruption among politicians, he said there is moral degradation in all walks of life, be it among doctors, lawyers or the media. “Netas are no exemption,” he said.
Gadkari was speaking at a convention organised by the Martyr’s Memorial Research Institute (MMRI) here.
The convention dealt with problems of the six key sections of people in the North Telangana region--Singareni Colleries employees, beedi workers, farmers, weavers, tribals and Gulf victims.
Sharing the dais with representatives from these sections, who gifted him with a Sircilla saree and amid batukamma greetings, Gadkari said sustained development in core sectors like agriculture and handloom is needed for the growth of the country. Gadkari’s statement appears to be aimed at garnering more support for BJP in North Telangana.
Though Gadkari maintained that he was not speaking politics, he went on to say that only the BJP could develop the nation and that the BJP-led NDA would form the next government at the Centre. Gadkari took a swipe at the successive Congress governments for the current condition of the poor and farmers.
“Indira Gandhi started the Garibi Hatao slogan and it was continued by Rajiv Gandhi. Now, Sonia Gandhi is carrying the same slogan and Rahul Gandhi is also taking it to villages. But there is no change in the living standards of the people,” he said.
The Garibi Hatao slogan ended up in more number of farmer suicides, and unemployment, and people in almost all sectors are driven to suicide, he said.
Gadkari said it was not a big challenge for the BJP-led NDA to come to power. “Our challenge would be to develop farmers, weavers and every other sector,” he said and added that good economic development would be possible with e-governance.
On the issue of development, Gadkari cited the example of BJP-ruled states. Constructing nine barrages over Godavari river would developed the region, he said.
“Narendra Modi’s government gave Narmada waters and Gujarat is now prosperous. Similarly, construction of barrages over Godavari would provide irrigation to 80,000 acres. The AP government is talking about projects, but it was the contractors who benefited from them. Did you find a single drop of water in the state? Where is the water?” he asked. Gadkari said, “If Gujarat can turn the desert areas of Kutch into agricultural fields, why can’t Karimnagar be developed on par using Godavari waters?
Similarly, Karnataka is giving free power and loans to farmers. Madhya Pradesh government is giving loans at zero percent interest and Chattissgarh is giving loans at 1 percent interest. “Why can’t the AP government do the same?” he questioned.
Gadkari said the wrong economic policies of Congress are driving the farmers to suicide. “The Congress is neck deep in corruption, be it 2G, Coalgate or CWG. Lakhs of crores are stashed in banks. This lakhs of crores of corrupt money is enough to provide power, water, roads and all facilities to the poor people of the nation,” he said. BJP state president G Kishan Reddy, senior leaders Prof SV Seshagiri Rao, party national secretary P Muralidhar Rao and other participated in the meeting.