Gujarat won’t let ‘urban Naxals’ gain a foothold, says Modi
Modi says “urban Naxals are trying to enter the state in new disguises, having changed their costumes”
Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday warned the people of Gujarat against “Urban Naxals who have taken up the task of destroying the country”, making a veiled attack on the Opposition parties ahead of the assembly elections later this year.
“Urban Naxals are trying to enter the state in new disguises, having changed their costumes. They are misleading our innocent and energetic youth into following them,” he said in a veiled attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has decided to contest all 182 assembly seats in the state.
The PM, who is on a three-day visit to Gujarat, was speaking after laying the foundation stone of the country’s first bulk drug manufacturing unit in Gujarat’s Bharuch district. He later inaugurated several projects in Anand.
Recalling his tenure as Gujarat chief minister between 2001 and 2014, Modi said, “Across the country, tribal lives were being destroyed, youth were given guns in their hands and putting their lives in danger. From Umbergaon to Ambaji, I did not want naxalites in my state, I wanted to save the lives of my tribal brothers and sisters. I started development work in these areas. I am satisfied today...”
“But now, they are flying from above to get a foothold in Gujarat and won’t let them destroy our young generation. We should warn our children against the Urban Naxals who have taken up the task of destroying the country. They are agents of foreign powers. Gujarat will not bow down its head against them, Gujarat will destroy them,” he added.
“Urban Naxal” is a term often used by some segments of the political spectrum, particularly on the right, to describe rivals on the left.
Reacting to PM’s statement, Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italia said, “If there are any such elements called Urban Naxals in Gujarat, they should be immediately arrested by the NIA (National Investigation Agency) or other agencies. They have the state and central agencies with them so they should take action against Urban Naxals instead of giving speeches about them. Or else, it could mean that Urban Naxals do not exist.”
At Anand, where Modi addressed a Jan Vishwas Sammelan of party workers, he warned the party workers against becoming complacent about the Congress as the party’s “silence should not be construed as their absence”.
“I need to warn you because it appears to me that this time the Congress has adopted a new strategy. I have not probed, but that is what appears to me at first glance,” he said, recalling that in previous assembly elections, the Congress used to make a lot of noise and boast about “finishing” the BJP, which has ruled the state for more than two decades.
“Don’t be confused because they are not appearing in the press, nor conducting any press conference or making speeches. Beware... the Congress is trying to infiltrate with a new strategy. It does not speak, but is reaching out to villages, holding meetings,” he added.
During the visit, the PM made a veiled attack on India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, accusing him of not resolving the Kashmir issue and credited Sardar Vallabbhai Patel with integrating all princely states with India.
Sardar saheb persuaded all the princely states to merge with India. But another person handled this one issue of Kashmir,” Modi said, without naming India’s first prime minister.
“As I am following in the footsteps of Sardar saheb, I have values of the land of Sardar and that was the reason I resolved the problem of Kashmir and paid true tributes to Sardar Patel,” he added.
Hitting back, the Congress said that the PM is “scared”.
“The Prime Minister is scared and this is evident from his frequent visits to Gujarat. He is seen campaigning more than the state’ chief minister. Also, Modi himself admitted today that Congress should not be taken lightly and that we are active on the ground, carrying out door-to-door campaign. As far as Kashmir is concerned, the Prime Minister should read history before making such comments. The decision for Kashmir was taken jointly by Patel and Nehru,” said Arjun Modhwadia, a senior Congress leader from Gujarat.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Monday launched a vociferous attack on the AAP over a derogatory remark by its Gujarat unit chief Gopal Italia against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019.
BJP’s IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya had on Sunday shared a video on Twitter where Italia can be heard calling PM Modi “neech aadmi” (a lowly person). The video was purportedly made in the run-up to the general elections in 2019.
Attacking the AAP, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said: “No Prime Minister can be called neech admi, as they are democratically elected. And doing so is an insult to democratic process of India parliamentary process of the country.”
National Joint General Secretary of AAP, Isudan Gadhvi, however, hit back at the BJP.
“After 27 years, BJP is unable to come up with five topics on which they will contest this election. They have been looking for an issue like this and then their leaders of Delhi have taken out an old video of Gopalbhai and lashed out at him. My question for the BJP is that you cannot ask for votes in the name of the work done in 27 years. So, will you resort to asking for votes by resurfacing old videos of Gopal Italia?,” he asked.
