Mumbai rally live: Congress' bad governance spreads like diabetes, says Modi

3.04 pm: Where have all the film schools gone? Now what is a Mumbai yatra without a reference to Bollywood? And Modi doesn’t disappoint. “Given that I am in the land of films, I have to point out another thing,” he declares. Just when you think he’ll hold Congress responsible for the existence of Krrish3, he takes us all by surprise. “So many films are made every year. There are so many professionals. Couldn’t the UPA government and the Maharashtra government get together and set up a ‘Film University’ in Mumbai to commemorate 100 years of cinema? Couldn’t there be a university all about film technology and develop human resources for Bollywood?,” he asks indignantly. It’s another thing that an institute called Film and Television Institute of India exists in Pune. Like do other film schools across India. Here’s a list of private and government institutes that teach several aspects of film-making. Can’t blame Modi though if he thought these were not film schools, only finishing schools for men who want to sport a beard, smoke a bidi and still aspire to impress the fine women of our country! 2.42 pm: Modi’s favourite anti-corruption weapon? Computers! Taking on the Congress for perpetuating a tradition of ‘recommendations’ which make it impossible for the youth to get government jobs, Modi announced a great solution. “I asked all the young people looking for jobs to put in their CVs and fill in their details into the computer. They did. I then asked the computer, which are the people who deserve jobs. Show me the first 13,000 people who deserve these jobs. The computer gave me the names. And all those people got letters of employment,” he says. Now don’t be surprised of Amit Shah starts hating the ‘computer’! Comparing Mahrashtra and Gujarat, Modi says that there is one sure shot way to tell between a Gujarati village and a village in Maharashtra. “The village that doesn’t have power is the one from Maharashtra,” he says. “We have offered them technical help to increase revenue, but alas, they have no time to make that possible.” 2.46 pm: Labour should be respected, says Modi Accusing the Congress of destroying the education system. “Children from poor families to and study in ITIs. They drop out of school. Then are are left looking for jobs despite having taken a vocational training course. In Gujarat, we have decided that if a person has completed his tennth standard and then took vocational training in ITI, he will he considered a school pass-out. This way, companies can’t turn them away for not having completed their studies,” he said. 2.32 pm: Modi takes a dig at Rahul though he doesn’t name them As was expected, he soon turned to his favourite prey - Rahul Gandhi. And how! Though he refrained from naming him, he pointed out the ridiculousness of Rahul making a speech on abolishing corruption when its own leaders are neck deep in all sorts of scams! “Just when notices were being served to Maharashtra Congress leaders for corruption, their leader was giving a speech on black money and the necessity to wipe out corruption. Tell me something, the government is theirs, whose responsibility is it to make sure there’s no black money in the Swiss Bank? Isn’t it their responsibility to bring back all that black money?” He also alleged that so that too many people don’t get to hear him, the Congress has started cutting cable TV connections across Maharashtra. “You can cut cable TV wires, you can’t lock up people’s hearts,” he warned. 2.21 pm: Modi criticizes the political practices of Maharashtra Congress While he starts off on a conciliatory note, pointing out the close bond that Maharashtra shares with Gujarat, he immediately progresses to pointing out the stark differences in the political culture of the two states. “Gujarat was a part of extended Mahrashtra before it became a separate state. Though the two states have functioned autonomously for the same period, Maharashtra witnessed 26 chief ministers, Gujarat just 17,” he said, pointing out the lack of political stability that Congress has brought about in Maharashtra. “The cry of ‘Quit India’ against the British emanated from Maharashtra. Now, the cry to throw the Congress out should also start from Maharashtra,” he added. “The party learnt the Divide and Rule policy from the British. The party broke our country down into three parts and made sure that brothers keep fighting with each other as long as the countries exist. They are the ones which have made sure that there is no peace, people stay divided, fight each other and hence keep casting votes in their favour as they have no time to see their corrupt ways,” he said. 2.14 pm: Modi addresses crowd Finally, Narendra Modi takes to the stage and starts speaking in Marathi. Right on cue, the crowd breaks out in loud cheers. Now it does sound like a Modi rally! “For us Gujaratis, Mumbai is our second home. I have always felt that the amount of respect Mumbai shows to the Gujarati language, it seems as if the language belongs to here. After all, we used to belong to the same state in the past. Maharashtra is our elder brother, Gujarat is the younger sibling.” “When Gujarat became a separate state, there were questions about how the state would hold fort. There was no natural resources, no enterprise; we had a desert and Pakistan for a neighbor. But we overcame all of that and have shown that the most inclement situations can be turned around.” 1.51 pm: Rajnath Singh praises Balasaheb Thackeray “When there were anti-national actions taking place, Balasahebji Thackeray’s roar would intimidate the perpetrators and scare them off,” he says. he proceeds to pay his respects to the late Shiv Sena leader. Launching straight into Congress-bashing he says that the Assembly polls have shown that the entire country now wants to get rid of the Congress. “Congress said that they have won Mizoram back. In response to it, I said that it is good that the people of Mizoram voted for the Congress. The party at least has a consolation prize to keep,” he says. “Barack Obama used to sell ice-cream when he started off, Abraham Lincoln was a lumberjack and APJ Abdul Kalam Azad used to sell newspapers. Why can’t Narendra Modi, who started off as a tea-seller, become the Prime Minister of India,  I want to ask Sonia Gandhi,” he says. 1.11 pm: Shout Bharat Mata Ki jai, exhorts BJP leaders While such a feat is only possible in a Sunny Deol film, BJP leaders in the MMRDA grounds have now exhorting rally goers to scream ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ with such ferocity that Modi, flying down in a helicopter can hear them loud and clear. “Friends, shout Bharat Mata Ki jai,” says a leader. The crowd obliges. [caption id=“attachment_1301241” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Narendra Modi on the dias. Pic courtesy: www.narendramodi.in[/caption] Modi lands soon after and is greeted with the BJP’s idea of a music mash-up. There’s a song called “Mahnayakan” being played. Modi enters the stage to the song ‘Namo Namo’. There’s a lot of song and dance as Modi settled down, not betraying much appreciation for the very humble music being played on stage. Then BJP leader Gopinath Munde declares: “Though Sachin Tendulkar has retired, we have a new Sachin Tendulkar in the form of Narendra Modi. Whoa! However, as Munde shouts, “Bharat ka sher kaun hai (Who is India’s tiger)?”, he is greeted with pin drop silence. Seems like the BJP state leaders need emergency tips on addressing a rally from their leader! Munde also adds, “While Narendra Modi is all set to become the PM, Rahul Gandhi is still in coaching classes.” Again, pin drop silence. It’s fairly clear now, no one thrashes the Congress half as spectacularly as Modi himself.   12.05 pm: Narendra Modi gets a wax statue! BJP President Rajnath Singh and the party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi were welcomed in Mumbai with a life size wax statue of the Gujarat Chief Minister.  11.00 am: If you happen to live in Mumbai, it is not possible that you missed the fairly unfamiliar commercial being aired on radio channels over the past few weeks, alongside advertisements selling everything from insurance to earphones. In a close to 30-second slot, there’s a chirpy, excited voice asking you to attend Narendra Modi’s rally in the Bandra Kurla Complex grounds in Mumbai making it sound like the most awaited event in the city’s social calendar. While you are awed by the amount of money possibly spent on these ads, aired on prime time radio slots, several times over for several days, these were just a small part of the carnival-esque feeling that Mumbai BJP lent to Modi’s rally in the days leading to it. Most Mumbaikars were also greeted with an SMS message asking them to send a missed call to a certain number, in case they wanted to attend the rally. Also, giant billboards lined the most important thoroughfares exhorting Mumbaikars to turn up at the Maha Garjana Rally (the Mighty Roar rally for the ones unfamiliar with the language). [caption id=“attachment_1301127” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Narendra Modi. Reuters.[/caption] The BJP also dispatched tableau trucks in the Mumbai suburbs with microphones announcing Modi’s rally and urging people to turn up for it. While the economics involved - given that all the shebang is for a political rally to be addressed by someone who is now easily a fixture on news television - is both staggering and mindboggling, one has to give the Mumbai BJP full marks for creativity. They even issues VIP invitation cards to tea vendors requesting them to come for Narendra Modi’s rally. Then again, given that there was a blast in the last much-publicised rally Modi addressed, the BJP leader has been provided with seven layers of security. News agency PTI quotes Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh as saying: The security arrangements made for Modi are “fool-proof”… about 3,000 policemen have been deployed in and around the rally venue–MMRDA grounds near the suburban Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). “Since Modi’s threat perception has been classified as very high, he will be given seven layers of security. The Anti-Terrorism Cell has been activated. We are also checking on those who arrived in Mumbai over the last one month and continue to stay here,” the city police chief said. In addition to this, ’nakabandi’ operations would be conducted on the roads around the venue. Given the rock concert-ish preparations, here’s hoping that Modi rocks the stage. After all, it’s been a while since he came up with a ‘damaad ka karobaar’-like gem. And this time he’s in the city where dialogue-peddling is as legitimate, as it is celebrated.