Don't Let Supporters Of Anti-Narmada Forces Set Foot In Gujarat: PM Modi's Veiled Attack On AAP

PM Modi's comments were in reference to the AAP, which gave a 2014 Lok Sabha election ticket to activist Medha Patkar, who ran a campaign against Sardar Sarovar dam.

PM Modi targeted the Aam Aadmi Party in a veiled attack over giving 2014 Lok Sabha election ticket to activist Medha Patkar.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a veiled attack on the Aam Aadmi Party, said on Sunday that people who gave election tickets to those who opposed the Narmada dam project for years should not be allowed to step in Gujarat, reported news agency PTI. Allowing such people to set foot in the state is like committing a sin, he said.

Addressing a mega rally in Mota Varachha area of Surat city, considered to be a stronghold of Patidars, Modi also said he had to sit on a fast for the completion of the Narmada dam project.

"People of Surat should remember one thing. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation stone for the project, but it was stalled for 50 years. They (activists) ensured that no one in the world gave funds to Gujarat for the dam project. They (AAP) gave tickets to such people," he said.

"It is like committing a sin if we allow such people to set their foot in our state as they destroy the future of three generations," he added.

His comments were in reference to the AAP, which gave a 2014 Lok Sabha election ticket to activist Medha Patkar, who ran a campaign against Sardar Sarovar dam. AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal is currently camping in Surat and the party is hopeful that it would win some seats in the city.

"Thanks to this dam we were able to provide water to the parched areas of Saurashtra and Kutch," Modi, who was Gujarat chief minister between 2001 and 2014, said.

He also accused the Congress party of stalling the completion of the project and said he had to sit on a fast to when he was chief minister to raise the height of the dam.

"Congress thinks that it is not required to build infrastructure in the country, but people of Surat know the importance of infrastructure," he said.

"During the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule at the Centre, we asked for a metro rail project and an airport for Surat city, but they did not budge. After the double-engine government came, the airport in Surat is one of the busiest and metro work has started," he said.

Modi said double-engine governments are required for the growth of the country.