Gujarat's chief minister, Narendra Modi, ended his one-month statewide political march on Thursday in Pavagadh by trumpeting his state's successes under his governance and pledging to the crowds that Gujarat “would not fall into the hands of the corrupt,†a clear dig at the Congress Party.
Though the ostensible purpose of Mr. Modi's journey throughout the state, called the Swami Vivekananda Yuva Vikas Yatra, was to “enlighten†Gujarat's youth about their progress, the yatra felt more like a campaign tour just before the most crucial election of Mr. Modi's career, with the Congress Party intensifying its efforts to make sure he does not win a fourth consecutive term as chief minister.
The yat ra covered nearly 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) in a month, during which the controversial chief minister announced the formation of seven new districts and 45 new talukas, or administrative units, in the state, which are expected to create new jobs. The Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart addressed rallies on 16 days and kept harping on his development plank while bashing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Gandhi family and any number of “enemies of Gujarat†in his 32 speeches.
Stunned by the Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi's massive rally in Rajkot in Gujarat last week, the state B.J.P. had ordered its crowd managers to try to drum up 200,000 people at Pavagadh for Mr. Modi's yatra-ending rally. Party officials worked overtime to mobilize people from across central Gujarat to get closer to the targeted number.
The efforts paid off, with the B.J.P. general secretary Vijay Rupani estimating that a little over 175,000 people attende d. The police had a tough time handling trucks, buses and all sorts of vehicles ferrying people around Pavagadh. Two district superintendents of police, 8 deputy superintendents of police, 27 police inspectors, 91 police sub-inspectors, 1,321 head constables and cops, 91 policewomen and four mounted policemen were pressed into service.
“I've come here to seek Goddess Kali's blessings,†he said as he greeted the crowds. “Not for me, but for the six crore (60 million) people of Gujarat.â€
Mr. Modi's yatra was planned in such a way that it began and ended on important days in India's history. It began Sept. 11, exactly 119 years after Swami Vivekananda delivered his historic address at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, from the temple town Bahucharaji in north Gujarat. And Thursday marked the birthday of Jayaprakash Narayan, affectionately called Loknayak, or “people's leader,†who was an Indian independence activist and politician famous for strongly opposing Indira Gandhi's declaration of a state of emergency in the mid-1970s.
Thursday was also International Day of the Girl Child, and Mr. Modi spent a considerable part of his speech detailing his achievements in reducing female foeticide in the state, recalling how he had tears in his eyes when he saw the 2001 census figures showing a stark imbalance between the numbers of male and female infants.
Mr. Modi eventually launched a virulent onslaught on the Congress Party leaders, saying that it took him a lot of time to “wash away the sins†committed by the previous Congress governments in Gujarat. He said the Congress-led government needed to be taught a lesson and that he wanted to ask the premier why Gujarat is not treated as part of India.
But then Mr. Modi declared that he would not talk of the election, as people have already decided to have a “grand†and “divine†Gujarat, adding that Mrs. Gandhi may visit the state 50 times, “ but the state would not fall into the hands of the corrupt.â€
The chief minister hailed the news on Thursday that Britain has decided to resume relations with Gujarat, ending a decade of estrangement in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots in 2002, which killed hundreds of people. The British Foreign Office minister in charge of India, Hugo Swire, has asked the British high commissioner in India, James Bevan, to visit Gujarat and meet Mr. Modi and senior functionaries.
“The U.K. has a broad range of interests in Gujarat,†Mr. Swire said in a statement. “We want to secure justice for the families of the British nationals who were killed in 2002. We want to support human rights and good governance in the state. We also want to provide the best possible support for British nationals who live in, work in or visit Gujarat; and to the many Gujaratis who now make up one of the most successful and dynamic communities in the U.K.â€
“I welcome the U.K. govern ment's decision to send an envoy to Gujarat,†said an elated Mr. Modi in Pavagadh. “Gujarat should have been the Shanghai of India, but Manmohan Singh has ignored us. He may or may not understand us, but the British have.â€
While concluding his speech, Mr. Modi walked a few decades back in India's history and echoed the famous words of Rani Lakshmibai, the queen of Jhansi and one of the country's leading freedom fighters: “Meri Jhansi nahi dungi!†(I'll not give my Jhansi!)
He then made the people take a pledge: “Nahi denge, nahi denge, hamara Gujarat nahi denge!†(“We'll not give our Gujarat!â€)
