Live: Modi prescribes herbal cure for J&K unemployment

2:30 pm: Modi ends speech preaching unity Modi ended his rally with a ’lalkaar’ to the opposition and can be expected to received responses over the next 24 hours. We expect Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to lead the charge but whether the BJP PM candidate’s speech will cause a debate on Article 370 is unlikely. His suggestions for the progress of the state were rather on expected lines though the entire debate about herbal medicine seemed to be a bolt from the blue. All in all, Modi seemed to have had a great first rally in the state hitting all the right notes with his audience. 2:20 pm: Modi preaches unity to the audience Modi said that Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first Prime Minister to come to the state in 14 years and the BJP still adhered to what he had said at the time. “Insaniyat, jamooriyat and Kashmiriyat are the principles he endorsed,” Modi said. He questioned the absence of IITs, IIMs and other universities in the state and said neither the state government nor the Centre had worked towards it. “We can never move ahead by fighting against each other… We are all one nation and we should to move forward together,” Modi said. He’s talking about the unity of the nation and Modi’s getting a lot of applause from behind him on the dais. “I want to challenge those who have survived on politics of division whether they have courage to accept the truth,” Modi said. “We should have only one religion: Nation first. There should be only one religious text: the Constitution,” he said. 2:15 pm: Modi’s suggests herbal medicine cure for unemployment in J&K Modi’s now talking about herbal medicines and says the whole world is moving towards it. Unfortunately China is leading in it, he said. “The whole world is moving towards herbal medicine and the Himalayas are full of herbs. But is the Centre of the state government doing anything to further it in the state?” he asked. He said that the state could advance it and could cure unemployment in the state with it. The Gujarat Chief Minister also blamed the state government for preventing to ensure that tourism continued to grow in the state. “Earlier Bollywood used to come here to shoot all its films but now no one comes here… On the occasion of its 100th anniversary, the government could have organised an event to revive memories and attract filmmakers here again,” Modi said. He also suggested the creation of a film school in the state. No one’s really cheering for these suggestions. 2:10 pm: Modi sells progress to his Jammu audience, slams separatists and state govt Modi is going after the separatists now and says that their existence is purely a drain on the state’s finances and furthers anti-national elements. “Seperatists have been demanding for a seperate state but their demand should have been for a super state,” Modi thundered to cheers. The BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate attacked the administration of the state and said that they constantly kept going to Delhi with a bowl seeking alms. “They keep acting like the state is a begging state. It is anything but that,” Modi said. We have to remove this stain of ‘beggar’ on the state and make the state a ‘better’ one, the BJP’s PM candidate said. He said that the state administration constantly kept discriminating among various groups in the state. “If the people of this state raise their voices together then there is no government in Srinagar or Delhi that can ignore your voices,” he said. 2:05 pm: Modi attacks separatists, bats for gender equality “These separatists keeping talking about separation but no one apart from 60 families or so have benefited from it,” the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate said. He pointed to the absence of laws to ensure that woman were on the same platform as men when it came to rights. “I am not here to talk about Hindus and Muslims… If you want progress then you need to have politics of unity and that will ensure progress,” he said. Modi questioned why Omar Abdullah had received certain rights that his sister didn’t have. “His sister (Sara) married outside the state and therefore she is ineligible for certain rights,” Modi said. He batted for equal rights for women and men in the state and questioned why human rights activists never questioned this before. 1:58 pm: Modi demands debate on Article 370 of the Constitution Modi said that the Centre should be willing to discuss the status of Article 370 of Constitution for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He then moved on to the Prime Minister on the topic and said that Pandit Nehru had promised that it would at some point be removed. “You talk about implementing what great people said but if it is the case then Mr Prime Minister why aren’t you debating this?” Modi said, calling for a debate on the matter. Cue the cheers again. Modi said that the Centre was making various laws but none of them were applicable to Jammu and Kashmir and the only reason for it was the application of Article 370 of the Constitution. He’s pointing to the various laws that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are unable to benefit from due to the special status of the state. Modi pointed out that corruption was rampant in Jammu and Kashmir but the laws dealing with it were absent. “They don’t want any accountability that’s why the law is not being implemented,” he said. 1:55 pm: Modi blames Centre for the death of prisoner Sarabjeet Singh in Pakistan He paid his respects to the security forces and is now on to his favourite topic. “The government at the Centre is sleeping… They will sleep well into 2014 and there is no chance they will wake up,” he said to cheers from his audience. Modi said there were two events that took place recently in Pakistan, only one of which was noted. “The jail in which Sarabjeet Singh was killed, in the same manner a week earlier Chamel Singh had been killed in a similar fashion. If the Indian government had acted on it, Sarabjeet wouldn’t have been killed,” he said. The BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate said that in case a political party wanted to escape persecution for any crime they had committed there was one cure for it. “The medicine is secularism. Talk of secularism and you are spared of all your previous crimes,” Modi said. 1:50 pm: Modi talks history to his audience, says Mookherjee was ignored by Nehru on J&K Modi is talking about the history of J&K and says a lot of the history has since been allowed to fade away. “Even Nehru had to acknowledge that Dr Shyama Prasad Mookherjee was accurate in his philosophy on the state… Despite us knowing that what Dr Mookherjee was wanted was right it was ignored by Pandit Nehru,” Modi said. The BJP Prime Ministerial candidate is continuing to talk about historical figures from the state including former Army officials. 1:40 pm: Modi takes the stage After much ado, Modi is on the stage and the crowd is cheering for the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. “Today a lot of old memories are coming alive,” Modi said to cheers. He followed it up by saying that he had worked in the state in the past, not too many cheers for that. The crowd is now cheering ‘Modi, zindabad’ and Modi is talking about his links with the Gujar community in the state. 1:35 pm: Singh heaps praises on Modi Singh mentions Modi and the crowd cheers. They’re here to see him and everything else seems to be an opening act. “They are levelling baseless allegations against Modiji… There is no mai ka laal in this country who can level allegations of corruption against Modi,” Singh said playing the audience. He’s talking about various incidents of rioting  and says that the Congress is merely trying to create a ‘sense of fear’ about their Prime Ministerial candidate among Muslims. “Today in Gujarat the income of Muslims is higher than anywhere else in India. The credit for this goes to Narendrabhai. The Congress is merely trying to create a sense of fear to win your vote,” Singh said. According to the BJP president, Congress has gone ‘into depression’ over the rise of Congress. Cue the cheers. Singh attacked Rahul Gandhi and said that as a principal opposition party they were merely ensuring the Congress did not loot the country. 1:25 pm: Singh criticises Manmohan Singh for his dealings with China The BJP president said that as per the Indian agreement with China did not work to ensure the territorial integrity of India and said the Prime Minister didn’t consult with Parliament despite it being such a contentious agreement. “What if China comes and takes over Arunachal Pradesh? Will we fold our hands and ask them to leave?” Singh said. He also said that if China continued to give stapled visas to people from Arunachal Pradesh then India should also give stapled visas to Tibetans coming to India. Not much applause for that. The BJP president is also talking about strengthening the panchayati raj system in the state and said that if people didn’t want Article 370 of the constitution implemented then it should be withdrawn to ensure local residents had more say in the administration. He’s not really got the audience riveted, but Singh’s steaming on nonetheless promising various policies. He’s promised rehabilitation of Kashmiri pandits in the country if the BJP comes to power in 2014. “The Congress has ruined the country since it has been in power,” Singh said. 1:15 pm: Rajnath Singh credits Indian Army with keeping Kashmir with India Setting the stage for the prime ministerial candidate is party president Rajnath Singh who speaks about the history of the state and credits the Indian Army for ensuring the state remained a part of India. Singh then switched his attention to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. “I am always hurt when any leader says that J&K is a part of India but not completely a part of it… People should know that Jammu and Kashmir will always remain a part of India and no foreign power can ever take it away,” he said to cheers. He said that neighbours like China and India cannot deny the truth that J&K is a part of India and he blamed the weakness of the Centre for the incursions by Chinese troops in Ladakh. “The country is full of brave people but it has such a weak Prime Minister,” he said. 12:50 pm: Modi arrives as Jammu stadium, stadium reverberates with ‘Modi, Modi’ chants Narendra Modi has finally arrived at the venue of the rally and the capacity crowd is chanting the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate’s name, reports Sameer Yasir for Firstpost.  The stadium is now packed to capacity but will have to wait for some more time before they hear the Gujarat Chief Minister speak. 11:30 am: Explosion around 40 km from Jammu 2 people killed and 3 people were injured in an explosion around 40 kilometres from Jammu. The explosion took place at a PMGSY scheme project that was underway near Jammu and the cause of the explosion is not yet known. 9.50 am: Jammu locked down as crowds pour in for Modi rally With thousands of people pouring into Jammu to listen to BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to deliver his first ever speech in the state, the city is in a state of lockdown, says Firstpost correspondent Sameer Yasir, who is at the rally. [caption id=“attachment_1259745” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] People are heading towards the rally venue on foot said Yasir, adding that hundreds of others, traveling from distant parts of the state had reached the venue last evening and slept inside the stadium to ensure that the could listen to Modi. Significantly, around 6,000 people have also come to listen to him from Kashmir, he added. Although the stadium has a capacity of only around 40,000 official estimates suggest that there may be up to one lakh persons converging at the site. However, many may be kept out by security forces in order to prevent overcrowding. According to Yasir, the main factor driving the crowds is curiosity. “This is the biggest rally ever held by the BJP in the state, and the first time that Modi is visiting”, he said. Security is understandably extremely tight, with authorities keen to avoid a repeat of Modi’s Patna rally, which was the target of serial bomb blasts. Four high-ranking police officials, including an Inspector General of Police from Gujarat, arrived in Jammu three days before Modi’s rally. The Gujarat police will be personally overseeing the security arrangements at the venue where Modi is supposed to address the rally, sources said. The Jammu and Kashmir police have deployed more than 4,000 police and paramilitary force personnel in the town to thwart any possible threat to the rally. The rally is scheduled to begin at 11 am, but could be delayed, given the stringent security measures in place. Modi is expected to speak around 1:30 pm.