The crowd in Kolkata. I estimate between 1.5 to 2 lakhs pic.twitter.com/Jc5OY6MNDp

Published: February 5, 2014 17:03 IST | Updated: February 5, 2014 18:18 IST

Unveiling another layer of his agenda of development without differentiation, Narendra Modi lampooned political parties that favour a third alternative at the Centre for putting the States ruled by them in the third place; lambasted the sterile politics of secularism; and invoked Bengali pride and self-esteem to put the Congress’s ruling dynasty in the dock.

Addressing a swarming sea of humanity at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Jana Chetana Sabha at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on Wednesday, the Gujarat strongman mused that there is a sharp and visible imbalance in the progress and development of western as opposed to eastern India, and a major reason for this dichotomy is that the eastern States have often been ruled by a component of the so-called Third Front (third front wala). “They are making India third rate,” he charged, and exhorted the people to “throw them out of politics”.

Elaborating, he said that at election time, these people invariably remember the poor along with the mantra of secularism (garib ki mala japte hain, secularism ke geet gate hain). But these keepers (thekedar) of secularism and their vote-bank politics have only reduced the minorities, the Muslims in particular, to voters; they are not considered as citizens and the benefits of development do not percolate to them. Pointing out that the Communists have ruled West Bengal for 35 years, Narendra Modi said that the Muslim population of Gujarat is less as compared to West Bengal, but still, the Hajj quota for his State is 4800 and the number of applicants are a whopping 37,000. This, he asserted with pride, is a measure of the wealth of the community in Gujarat. In contrast, the West Bengal quota is nearly four-fold, 11,600, and the number of applications (12,000) is virtually equal, which is tangible proof of the lack of development.

Both Assam and West Bengal are States that face a serious problem of Bangladeshi immigrants, who are stealing the employment opportunities of our Indian youth, who have the first claim on our resources. That is why, he emphasised, “my view of secularism is nation first, my dharma is the Indian Constitution; I believe in rashtra bhakti and the Shakti of 125 crore people”. If we keep together, we will grow together, he promised.

Exhorting the staggering crowds to give all 42 Parliamentary seats to the BJP in the forthcoming general election, Narendra Modi joked that this would yield a three-fold benefit. Having taken care to focus his ire on the Communist parties and to avoid harsh criticism of the Trinamool Congress and its failure to deliver the expected development to the State, he said that Mamata Banerjee would work for the people in the State; he (Modi) would work for the State in Delhi. “Ask Mamata to explain her performance in Kolkata, ask us in Delhi, and you will have sweets (laddoos) in both hands, he said, adding that the people should not elect any other party, for then “how will we be accountable?” Saying the time had come to wipe out the underdevelopment of the past 60 years, he joked that the triple benefit to Bengal is that “on top of us, Pranabda, is yours only”.

As the crowd roared in appreciation, Narendra Modi played the Bengali card to the hilt, pointing out that when Indira Gandhi was assassinated, Rajiv Gandhi returned from Kolkata and was sworn-in as Prime Minister, though as per convention the honour should have gone to the then senior-most Cabinet Minister, Pranab Mukherjee. Instead, such was the “kootniti” of the Gandhi family that not only was Pranabda denied his due, but he was also kept out of the Cabinet. Exhorting Bengalis “don’t forget this insult”, he recalled that in 2004 again, Pranabda was the senior-most leader who should not been given the post if Sonia Gandhi did not want to be Prime Minister herself, but Manmohan Singh was chosen; such, he said, are the doings (karnamas)  of the Gandhi family.

Congratulating the people of West Bengal for booting out the communist regime, he said that the expected benefits of growth and development were still to be realised, and for this a friendly government at the Centre would be an asset. West Bengal, he said, is a unique State that is blessed by both Goddesses Saraswati and Lakshmi, and yet it lags behind other States. Agriculture is languishing despite the availability of water and rains; and despite proximity to coal mines the scams in New Delhi were denying coal for electricity and thwarting development. Thus, the State that was the first in computers, where the country’s first ambassador car rolled out, has no employment opportunities in either industry or agriculture.

Continuing his theme of development of the bottom-most in society, Narendra Modi lamented the culture of respecting the rich and the blue collar workers and having little regard for those who earned their living from the sweat of their brow. The communists, he pointed out, had exploited the vote of the working class for decades without improving their lot; it is now time to consider labour as an asset and an investment and respect workers, “our economic outlook must change” he stressed.

Regretting that village schools are in the doldrums in a State that is renowned for its love of learning and still hosts some of the most famous schools in India, Narendra Modi said that schools must have electricity so that the youth can be given computer education; and lamented that to this day all schools do not have proper sanitation facilities for the girl child.

Quoting from Rabindranath Tagore, Narendra Modi said that his idea of India was Gurudev’s declamation that ‘true fearlessness can be attained only when one is reassured of security and peace, which means physical safety, rights, and economic well-being.” Tragically, what Bengal has seen instead is the flight of capital and a languishing economy. Recalling Bengal’s great sons like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Syama Prasad Mookerji, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Narendra Modi reminisced that Gurudev’s brother had spent a lot of time in Gujarat and that Netaji had showcased his strength at the Haripura session of the Congress in Gujarat.

Moreover, it was Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerji who had the vision to realise that the nation would not flourish under the Congress, and hence he launched an alternative political party. Swami Vivekananda wanted India to reclaim her status as teacher to the world (Vishwa Guru) but this is only possible when Bengal takes her place as Rashtra Guru. The time has come, he said, to set aside the 60 wasted years and realise the basic issues of development such as village roads, electricity, education, and employment. He urged the people to shun the negativities of the past, the corruption, the goonda raj, the hartals and vote for their common aspirations.

BJP president Rajnath Singh said Bengal is the land of innumerable revolutionaries and heroes, the land that gave India her national anthem and national song, and the right to travel to Jammu and Kashmir without a permit. But three decades of communist rule had sapped the vitals of the State in all spheres of life, turning the City of Joy into a land of rape and rapine, debt, despair and lack of growth.  He promised that if voted to power the BJP would honour Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s request to the Centre for a three-year moratorium on the servicing of the State’s debt, which currently stood at Rs 28,000 crore per annum, which burden the State could not shoulder in an environment of low growth and low investment. He said BJP should defeat the divisive forces at work in the State and would return the land of the Nandigram farmers.

Other speakers included former Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, state unit chief Rahul Sinha; former state unit presidents Tapan Sikdar and Tathagata Roy, spokespersons Shahnawaz Hussain and Siddharth Nath Singh; and singer Bappi Lahiri who sang a line – BJP we love you – to the delight of the crowd. Others on the dais included party general secretary Varun Gandhi; magician PC Sorcar junior; Ashim Ghosh, Sukumar Banerjee; Satyavrat Mukherjee and a number of senior retired IAS and IPS officers.