Narendra Modi in Amethi Updates: NDA giving strength to poor to bring them out of poverty, says PM

NDA govt is giving strength to poor: PM Modi

Modi in Amethi’s Gauriganj address accused the Congress of keeping the poor in poverty so that they can talk about ‘gareebi hatao’ generation after generation.

Farmers to jawans, NDA is for all: Modi

“Under UPA, the needs of India have been ignored and Amethi was cheated of an opportunity. During the four and half years of NDA, there were efforts to develop farmers. They were assured loan waivers,” said Narendra Modi

One of the most advanced rifles AK-203 will be made in Amethi, says Modi

The prime minister said that the rifles will be made by a joint venture of India and Russia. Modi also expressed his gratitude to Russian President Vladmir Putin.

Modi launches various development projects in Amethi

Condition of enemies will be same after AK-203 rifles are made in Uttar Pradesh for jawans: Yogi Adityanath 

Condition of enemies will be same after AK-203 rifles are made in Uttar Pradesh for jawans: Yogi Adityanath 

Narendra Modi reaches Amethi in Uttar Pradesh: 

According to The Quint , Modi was received at the airport by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union ministers Smriti Irani and Nirmala Sitharaman. The prime minister is scheduled to address a public rally in Kauhar area of Gauriganj and inaugurate Kalashnikov rifles manufacturing facility.

Modi’s rally in Amethi to begin shortly

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to begin his address in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi shortly.

The prime minister is also scheduled to launch several projects in the constituency which has remained loyal to the Gandhi family for long. According to official sources, Modi will address a public meeting in Kauhar area of Gauriganj and will launch some projects besides laying the foundation stone of a new unit of the Munshiganj Ordnance Factory, where assault rifles will be made in collaboration with Russia, on Sunday.

Modi had previously visited Amethi on 5 May, 2014 and the BJP, which had fielded party leader Smriti Irani against Gandhi in 2014 general election, had managed three lakh votes. Irani has been nurturing the constituency since and is expected to contest again in the coming poll, expected to be held in April-May.

Modi himself questioning air strike in Pakistan: Congress

Adding to Mehbooba Mufti’s attack on the prime minister, Congress claimed that Modi has himself “questioned” the recent anti-terror air strike in Pakistan by his remarks that the country is feeling the absence of Rafale fighter jets as the results could have been different if India had these aircraft.

The party also said it had neither sought proof of such strike earlier nor is it asking for it now. “The prime minister has himself questioned the air strike. He said had the Rafale jets been there (with the IAF), the results would have been different. What is the meaning of this?” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari posed during a press conference in New Delhi.

– PTI

VISUALS: BJP supporters in UP gear up for Amethi rally

PDP chief urges Opposition to keep electoral discourse focussed on all of BJP’s missteps, not just Balakot strike

Mehbooba Mufti in her tweets also encouraged the Opposition to keep the ongoing political discourse focussed on all the BJPs ideas, including demonetisation and GST.

“Presently, when war frenzy and jingoism in the guise of patriotism is at an all-time high, allowing political discourse to be reduced to the Balakot strikes will only help BJP electorally. Its no wonder that the Rafale deal, unemployment , poor eco growth are fading into oblivion,” she wrote.

Mehbooba Mufti dismisses PM’s comments on IAF air strike in Pakistan

Hitting back at the prime minister, for his comments which said that Opposition parties are demoralising India’s armed forced by demanding proof of the Balakot air strike, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that his accusation was “baffling.”

“Calling those who question the veracity of  Balakot strikes antinational is baffling. However the Opposition should not fall into this trap of changing the entire election discourse from pressing issues like demonetisation, GST, unemployment and farmers distress to these strikes,” she wrote in one of three tweets.

“As citizens of this country, we have every right to question the credibility of the Balakot operation. Especially due to government’s ambiguity about the details. How does it help the enemies? Only puts the Government of India in a tight spot since they want to exploit this to reap electoral benefits,” she added.

Even 10 jackals together cannot fight a lion: Sushil Kumar Modi

Continuing his support for the prime minister, Sushil Kumar Modi wrote on Twitter, “even if 10 jackals come together they cannot defeat the lion.” His comments are in reference to the united Opoosition defeating Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha polls.

“Our promises are to strong and is all intended for the development of prosperous Bihar. These promises can only be fulfilled if Narendra Modi becomes India’s prime minister once again,” he added.

Bihar Deputy CM bats for second term for Narendra Modi

In a series of tweets, Bihar’s deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi welcomed Prime Minister Narendra to Bihar, and expressed confidence in the BJP winning all 40 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“In 1999, the BJP, JDU and LJP had won 40 out of 54 seats; in 2009 the BJP and JDU had 32 out of 40 seats in 32; and in 2014 alone BJP and LJP had 31 seats in the Lok Sabha. Now, Nitish ji’s engine has also been added to the NDA train. Once again, Narendra Modi will be the prime minister by winning all 40 seats,” he wrote .

Anti-BJP alliances may not deter BJP’s vote share in northern India

The prime minister’s visits to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on Sunday come weeks after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav declared that it was the people of these states who will play kingmaker in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He claimed that the BJP has been surfing against the tide that the saffron party will lose close to 100 seats in Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Tejashwi’s statement was a political one, aimed to undermine his archrival, the Bharatiya Janata Party. And the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party alliance too is forged in the same vein, inspired by the will to keep BJP out of power rather than any ideological similarities between the two parties. However, the regional satraps could be correct in their pronouncement to the extent that the alliance does seem to be eating away at BJP’s share of votes in the politically crucial north Indian states.

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Shatrughan Sinha says will contest from Patna Sahib ‘whatever the situation’

Notwithstanding his differences with the BJP, Shatrughan Sinha said on Sunday that he will not change his constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha election “whatever the situation”, making clear he would contest again from Patna Sahib seat irrespective of the party decision.

The sitting Patna Sahib lawmaker has been at loggerheads with the current BJP leadership since the 2015 Bihar election, over several issues. He has often gone against the BJP, over demonetisation and GST and others.

Notably, he shared the stage with Opposition leaders at the Trinamool Congress-led anti-BJP rally in Kolkata in January, where he was projected as the “star speaker”.

– PTI

RECAP: BJP, JD(U) to contest 17 Lok Sabha seats each in Bihar, LJP six

The NDA had announced it’s seat-sharing formula for Bihar on 23 December 2018: BJP and Janta Dal (United) (JDU) will both contest 17 Lok Sabha seats in the state, while the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) will fight it out in six. BJP president Amit Shah, while announcing the seat sharing formula, also announced LJP chief and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan as the NDA’s candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls.

PM to travel to Congress’ bastion of Amethi, address rally at 3.30 pm

Following his visit to Patna, Narendra  Modi will travel to Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi , which is Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency. He will address a rally at 3.30 pm.

This will be Modi’s first visit to Amethi after coming to power in 2014. He visited the neighbouring Rae Bareli constituency, represented in Lok Sabha by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in December.

Lalu Prasad Yadav disses PM

In a tweet, former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav said that “Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, and Ram Vilas Paswan have gathered a crowd at Gandhi Maidan using government machinery, which I gather when I stop at a shop to buy paan.”

“Go on, men, keep trying, zoom the camera in some more,” the RJD supremo wrote.

Modi ‘unsuccessfully trying to pull Army to garner votes’, says Tejashwi Yadav

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav took to Twitter to criticise the prime minister’s speech minutes after it was over.

Using the hashtag #BiharRejectsModi, he said that the prime minister “didn’t speak on Special Status, Special Package, Srijan Scam, Unemployment, Smart Cities, Agrarian Crisis, Corruption, Jobs, Black Money and his earlier promises. He is unsuccessfully trying to pull Army in his narrow-minded politics to garner votes.”

Security beefed up at Gandhi Maidan ahead of PM’s speech

More than 4,000 police personnel were deployed at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan to ensure security, The Tribune reported. Fifteen IPS-rank officers, 18 ADM-rank officers and 298 Magistrates would monitor the rally.

Opposition ‘demoralising our forces’, says Modi

The prime minister, who attacked the Oppositon Congress over a variety of topics, also criticised them for asking for proof of the IAF’s air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. 

“Now they have even started asking for proof of the air strike. Why are Congress and its allies demoralising our forces? Why are they giving statements which are benefiting our enemies?” he asked.

 Saudi prince extended the Hajj quota to 2 lakh: PM

Modi also spoke about Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent visit to India. “I told him that more and more of our Muslim brothers and sisters are hoping to complete the Hajj pilgrimage. But their quota is not sufficient, so I asked him to increase it. And he did, to 2 lakh!”

He added that no other country’s quota has been extended except India’s.

Modi asks why Congress did not maintain India’s international integrity during its rule

Referring to the OIC meeting earlier this week, where EAM Sushma Swaraj was invited as the chief guest, the prime minister said that India was acknowledged and honoured.

“This has happened after 50 years,” he said, adding that Congress was at the helm of the nation for most of these 50 years. “Why have they not maintained India’s integrity on international platforms? Should they not answer this question?” he asked the cheering crowd.

Congress slowed down progress of Vajpayee’s welfare schemes: Modi

Modi, continuing his attack on the Opposition, said: “If there was a “mahamilaavati” government leading the nation, there would neither be any decisions nor would the poor be taken care of. Their disposition is for their own progress, and not for the progress of the nation.”

He added: “Please remember when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was prime minister, he worked for the benefit of the people. He set up schemes to better the highways, building roads in villages, youth education programmes. He began so many welfare schemes. But when Congress took power, progress slowed on all those projects.”

PM hits out at Congress

 “These days, a competition is underway to abuse the chowkidaar,” he said, adding that citizens of the state need not worry because “the chowkidaar is as alert as ever,” the prime minister said in an attack on the Congress.

Developing Bihar is NDA’s priority: PM

Addressing the Sankalp Rally in Bihar’s Patna, the prime minister said that the NDA government is committed to the development of the state.

“We are working to better education, youth employment, farmers’ conditions, and citizens’ concerns,” he said.

Nitish Kumar lauds PM for bringing electricity to Bihar’s villages

Nitish Kumar promised the prime minister that every village in Bihar will have proper sanitation by 2 October, 2019. He also lauded Modi for bringing electricity to villages across the country.

Narendra Modi begins address in Bihar’s Patna

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the NDA government’s Sankalp Rally in Bihar’s Patna on Sunday. This is the first time that state prime minister Nitish Kumar and Modi have shared a stage since 2009.

The prime minister will officially kick-start the NDA’s election campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.