Live: Dynasty, online trolls, Pakistan - Modi rips PM speech

9: 55 pm: Modi ends speech on a duller note, but seems to have made his point

Modi then returned to stating the need for a new school of thought and listed a various things the government should be.

“The government should only have only philosophy: India first,” Modi said.

He then went on to list a series of things that the government should be, what it should do and how it should act. Again deep but nowhere close to the fire that was there in the earlier part of the speech.

And in a typical fashion Modi ended his speech by getting the audience to join him in chanting slogans.

Admittedly it was more engaging than the Prime Minister, but the ending was a bit of a damp squib given the roll the Gujarat Chief Minister was on. Perhaps he should have stuck to PM and Gandhi family bashing?

9:40 am: Modi counters PM, hardsells Gujarat

The Gujarat Chief Minister then switched track to governance, improving economic policy.

He then went on to speaking about the various things that had improved in Gujarat and sounded much like a campaign speech for the state elections. Not very stirring stuff and it seemed like a good advertisement for the policies of Gujarat.

The audience was expectedly quiet and some can be forgiven for wondering why the Chief Minister is telling them about their state, but then they must also know that the speech isn’t really directed at them.

Modi also spoke of taking agricultural practices of the state outside it to the rest of the country. Wonder how that works, but then logic and science don’t always make figure in political speeches.

9:35 am: Modi challenges PM to a debate, says Congress brigade is targetting him

Modi is milking the attention to the fullest now and challenged the Prime Minister to a debate on all issues and in a move that must leave many Congressmen shaking their heads accused the Prime Minister of having an online troll ‘brigade’.

“Mr PM the nation wants us to spar against each other. Instead one of your online brigade is sitting in front of a computer to decide how to give gaalis to Modi. At least on the day of independence they should sing Vande Mataram and salute the flag,” Modi said.

“Come let us have a debate between Gujarat and Delhi…Let our shortcomings come forward and your good deeds come forward,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that the Prime Minister should understand that the debate should be in order to improve the condition of the country.

“There should be a competition for progress and good governance,” Modi said.

9:25 am: Modi says nation needs a new line of thought

“Every media channel was saying that it was the PM’s last speech but the PM claimed that there were miles to be covered in the future,” Modi said, even mimicking the Prime Minister’s voice.

“The nation needs a new line of thought,” Modi thundered listing a variety of things that the nation wanted. There was no “Yes we can” this time round though from the audience.

“We have never said that Gujarat’s current progress is because of the Modi government but we have always said that it is because of every part of the state that has worked hard for it,” he said.

The entire speech seems to be directed at the Prime Minister.  Can we can expect a strong press release in response from the PMO?

He even pointed to the fact that Indira Gandhi’s 20-point programme to eradicate poverty hadn’t been followed by even Congress administered states.

9:20 am Country’s condition hasn’t improved since independence, says Modi

Modi, in typical fashion, accused the Prime Minister and Congress of failing to improve the situation since Independence.

“The PM’s in his speech mentioned the same problems that lay before the nation that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru mentioned in 1947. So what have they been doing all these years?” he thundered to wild applause.

He also said that he had picked the venue of his speech carefully, so that his message would reach Pakistan rather than Delhi given its proximity to the border.

The Gujarat Chief Minister then steamed into the Food Security Bill repeating much of what he had said to the Prime Minister in his letter and video message earlier.

He claimed that the existing PDS system worked better than the planned Food Security Bill and said that if the Prime Minister was concerned about the legislation then he would call for a meeting of Chief Ministers to discuss shortcomings. You can imagine Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalithaa nodding appreciatively.

9:15 am: Modi gives critical review of the PM’s speech

The Gujarat Chief Minister then went on to take on the UPA on the issue of corruption and said that the situation had been progressively been getting worse

Likening each incident of corruption to a serial on television, Modi said that earlier they involved uncles and nephews (hint: Pawan Kumar Bansal) but said it had since then changed.

“_Saas, bahu aur damaad ke serials bhi aane lage hai (_now the serial involves mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and son-in-law)” he said in a barb directed at Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son-in-law Robert Vadra.

“The president’s speech is a matter of concern and self-inspection for all of us,” Modi said.

He said he had sat and listened to the Prime Minister to get some inspiration

“It has always been our mantra that for the benefit of the nation Gujarat must prosper…We wanted that the PM’s speech to be an inspirational one but I was sorely disappointed,” he said.

“From your speeach on the Red Fort you remember only one family? Wouldn’t it be better to remember other freedom fighters like Vallabhai Patel?”

He questioned why the Prime Minister mentioned only the Nehru-Gandhi family during his speech and not other leaders like Vallabhai Patel and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

9:10 am: Modi targets the Prime Minister over foreign policy

“Today we never got to hear anything from the Prime Minister about this (the attack along the LoC)…However, that the morale of our Army remains high and the nation expected to hear something from the Prime Minister on this,” Modi said.

“I don’t believe that the Red Fort is a place to target Pakistan and taunt them but it is a place where we can boost the morale of our troops,” he said.

He said that the PM had said that our enemies should not cross transgress our borders but did not specify what those limits are.

The Gujarat Chief Minister took on the UPA government over the China incursion into Ladakh, Italian marines shooting fishermen in Kerala and the killing of Indian soldiers along the LoC.

“I join my voice with yours Mr President in pointing out the concerns of the nation,” Modi said.

“Mr Prime Minister, it is your duty to ensure that the worries of the President are addressed,” he said.

9:05 am: Modi starts with invoking freedom fighters, goes after UPA

The Gujarat starts his speech by invoking the memory of freedom fighters from Gujarat who participated in the freedom struggle.

However, he quickly went straight to the point.

“The country has become independent but have we achieved what our freedom fighters wanted us to achieve?” Modi said.

“There is also a need for independent thought. We need to figure how we can free ourselves from a restrained mindset,” he said.

He says he can understand the worries of the President, which were expressed in his speech.

“I can understand his worries…We are in a situation where Parliament is not allowed to function by the ruling party,” he said.

9:00 am: Modi starts speaking in Bhuj

His supporters have pegged it as a counter to the Prime Minister’s speech and the Gujarat chief minister and potential PM candidate of the BJP is expected to speak shortly.

While we have an idea of the tenor of the speech, lets see how he counters

Read the live blog on the Prime Minister’s speech here   and the full text here