2014 year of the lotus and Modi, asserts Modi (Roundup)

Baghpat/Amroha(Uttar Pradesh)/Gohana(Haryana)/Chandigarh, March 29 (IANS) Claiming that 2014 will be the year of "Modi and lotus", BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Saturday said Congress cannot fight the ideology behind his party while calling the UPA government a burden and a threat for the country.

Addressing series of election rallies across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Chandigarh as a part of his "Bharat Vijay" programme, Modi drew parallel between 2014 Lok Sabha election and 1857 revolt.

"In 1857 he slogan was 'kamal aur roti' (lotus and bread), in 2014 it is 'kamal aur Modi' (lotus and Modi)," the Gujarat chief minister said at his rally in Baghpat town of western Uttar Pradesh.

Lotus flower and roti were symbols of resistance during the 1857 revolt. The lotus flowers were circulated in army units where soldiers had decided to support the revolt, while rotis were passed from one village to another symbolising that the entire village was ready to support the war.

Lotus is also the election symbol of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Modi also hit back at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi - who attacked him on his links with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) - saying he was proud of the ideology behind BJP.

"I am proud of the fact that I was born from an ideology. Yes, we have an ideology... Our ideology is society is above family...Mother India is everything for us. Our ideology is that we will live and die for the country," he asserted.

"And that is why, you (Congress) cannot fight this ideology. Your entire family has never been able to fight with this ideology. This ideology is based on the altar of sacrifice and service," he said.

Alluding to the alleged incursions by the Pakistan army and beheading of Indian soldiers in 2013, he said while all this was happening, the Congress government was serving chicken "biryani" to the visiting Pakistan premier.

Addressing the well attended election rally in Baghpat, he further said that neither farmers not soldiers were safe under the union government.

Rehashing the "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" slogan coined by late prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, he said the Congress' new slogan is: "Mar Jawan, Mar Kisan".

Alleging that the faulty policies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had created problems for the farmers and the poor, he also urged people to vote for the BJP's Baghpat candidate Satyapal Singh, the former Mumbai police commissioner.

Attacking Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, the incumbent MP, for ditching the policies of his father, late Charan Singh, Modi said the Rashtriya Lok Dal has deviated from Charan Singh's pro-farmer policies to sit in the lap of power.

He also took on the Samajwadi Party, claiming that Uttar Pradesh has been thrown into despair due to the wrong policies and misgovernance of the state government.

"The government of father-son, uncles and aunties has destroyed the state," he said, referring to perceived multiple power centres in the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led party.

Speaking at Chandigarh later in favour of BJP candidate, actress Kirron Kher, Modi said the UPA government had become a burden and threat.

"This government has become a burden on the country. This government has become a threat for the country. The country is not secure with such a government which cannot protect its soldiers who are being beheaded (by Pakistan). Can the country be secure with such a government?" he said.

Slamming the Congress for not addressing the real issues of development and corruption, Modi said: "If this country has to progress, we will have to give good governance. Bad governance is like diabetes. It can finish everything.

"Congress does not want to resolve the issue. They have admitted that corruption cannot be tackled."