E-Paper
UP polls: Till my death, Kashi will never leave me, says Modi
Addressing BJP workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says some people had stooped so low that they publicly wished for his death in Kashi (Varanasi)
Addressing a BJP workers’ meeting for the UP polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that some people had stooped so low in Indian politics that they publicly wished for his death in Kashi (Varanasi).
Modi, a two-term BJP MP from Varanasi, was addressing 20,000 booth level party workers at the Booth Vijay Sammelan in Kashi for the UP polls.
Although Modi not did not name any individual in this connection, his comment appeared to be a reference to a remark by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav a few months ago.
When PM Modi visited Varanasi on December 13, 2021 to inaugurate Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, Akhilesh Yadav had said in response to a question that people should stay in Kashi at the last moment. PM Modi’s comment on Sunday appeared to be an answer to that remark.
“Kashi is said to be avinashi (imperishable). And when the people of Kashi were feeling proud about the Vishwanath Dham project, we experienced another thing,” he said.
“Hamne dekha ki Bharat kee raajaneeti mein kuchh log kis had tak neeche gir gaye hain ki unhone sarvajanik roop se Kashi mein meri mrityu ki kamna ki …(We all have seen the extent to which some people have stooped in the politics of India. I do not like to criticise anyone publicly. But when death for me was wished publicly (by my opponents) in Kashi, I really felt very happy, my mind was very relaxed. I felt that even my fiercest opponents are seeing how much love the people of Kashi have for me,” the prime minister said.
“Those people have fulfilled my wish. This means that till my death, neither the people of Kashi will leave me nor will Kashi leave me,” he added.
Modi also said, “I believe that if it is destined for me to die while serving Kashi, and if I leave this world while serving the devotees of Bhole Baba, then what can be a greater fortune than this?”
On Sunday, PM Modi further said that the party has given him the benefit of serving Kashi, sitting at the feet of Mahadev and Mother Ganga.
He also said that his government has done a lot of work for cleaning the Ganga.
“The party sent a worker like me to Banaras, and I became one with Banaras (aur main Banaras ka hokar rah gaya),” he said.
Modi exhorted the party workers to discharge their responsibility with dedication and win their booths. “If the booth is won, victory is sure,” he said. “(For) the party which has the strength of hardworking workers like you, its victory is sure,” he said.“Your enthusiasm and confidence at Booth Vijay Sammelan show that we will win every booth as well, score full in this entire region,” he added.
Appealing to the party workers, he said, “I cannot visit every house of Kashi. Please visit every house of Kashi and convey my pranam to every person.”
The prime minister also said development of pilgrim centres means development of opportunities along with faith.
“For us, the development of pilgrim centres means the development of opportunities along with faith. Be it Banaras, Prayagraj or Ayodhya, when development takes place at these places, it opens several possibilities of tourism and local youths get employment. But those who consider crime as industry, they see the developmental works related to faith, and opportunity created by it, through the lens of communalism,” he said.
“The staunch parivarvadis (dynasts) don’t know that this is a lively city, Banaras. This Banaras opens the ways of salvation. And now the path of development on which Banaras is moving forward, will open ways for elimination of poverty and elimination of crime. This path will show the way of liberation of democracy of India, which is trapped in dynasty,” he said.
He alleged that during the tenures of previous governments, criminals had no fear and stole gold from the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Land sharks had tried to destroy the sacredness of Kashi and bomb blast occurred at the ghats and temple, he said. Terrorists had no fear because the then Samajwadi Party government was with them and it withdrew cases against terrorists, he said.
“But they cannot succeed in their wishes in the Kashi of Kotwal Baba Kaal Bhairav (The deity Kaal Bhairav is believed to be the sentinel of Kashi by devout Hindus). Can any mafia, terrorist stay in front of the trident? Not at all. Today, they all are where they should be,” said Modi. He added that “eternal Kashi” is giving a new direction to the country.
He said that Goddess Annapurna’s idol has been installed in the Kashi Vishwanath Temple premises (after being brought back from Canada).
“We have to work hard for the development of Kashi and the country,” he said.
He also recalled Kashi’s Domraja Jagdish Chaudhary, saying that Chaudhary had great affection for him. “I am also missing the late Domraja Jagdish Chaudharyji of Kashi,” he said.
Varanasi goes to polls in the seventh and last phase of the UP polls on March 7.
