Sonia protecting Rahul Gandhi, says Narendra Modi

Zee Media Bureau/Himanshu Kapoor

New Delhi: BJP`s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi addressed the BJP National Council meet here and launched an attack on the Congress for not naming party vice president Rahul Gandhi as its PM candidate in the recent AICC meet. Modi said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi didn`t want to sacrifice her son by nominating Rahul as the PM candidate as the the party`s defeat is imminent in the Lok Sabha polls due in May. “When defeat is imminent which mother will sacrifice her son,” Modi asked. Taking a dig at Rahul, Modi said that the Congress party members came to the AICC meet to hear the name of their PM candidate nominee instead got three additional cylinders. In his speech, Modi pointed out that when Congress MPs elected Sonia Gandhi to be the Prime Minister but she instead nominated Manmohan Singh for the top job. Questioning the Congress of following its tradition of naming the PM candidate, Modi said that a person for the PM post should be elected by the MPs. Modi also commented on Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar`s tea vendor remark saying that the dynasty doesn`t want to stoop to a level where it has to contest against a tea vendor coming from a backward strata as they have "feudal mindset". Also Read: Narendra Modi`s National Council meet address: As it happened Continuing his attack on the Congress, Modi said that the nation has not seen such a worst state as it has seen in the last decade of UPA rule. “Farmers are committing suicides, women are concerned for their safety, a child sleep hungry in the night,” he said. “Since the freedom, there have been many elections, but from the time of the BJP we have the experience of working, and if we look at all the elections so far, the upcoming 2014 General Election is going to be different,” he said while indirectly pointing that there anger against the Congress party. Modi touched on the issue of good governance, and said that good governance is not for the rich but for poor, backward and the oppressed. “We will give you good governance and good governance is not be for the rich and prosperous but the Dalits, poor and the oppressed. Good governance should go beyond doles and focus on development and delivery,” he said. Talking about the suffering farmers of the country, Modi said that our agriculture should be preserved and we should have the intent to to save it. “They believe money doesn`t go on trees. We believe it grows in farms and is the result of labour,” Modi said. In his 75-minute long speech, Modi also highlighted the importance of empowering the women, saying that women of this country is the its strength. “We should empower women of the nation and focus on their education. There is a need pay attention to their security.” Another important aspect that Modi highlighted was the youth and said the nation is blessed in this respect, adding that the youth should be protected from drugs. “We should protect the youth of our nation from narcotics. We should have a zero tolerance policy on this,” Modi said. On the issue of development, Modi promised to ensure the progress of the regions that are lagging behind if voted to power. “We want to move ahead with a vision of inclusivity. We should not consider regional aspirations a problem,” he said. Citing example of Japan coming up with the idea of the Bullet Train and China following the suit, he said that India`s rail network is very vast and we can progress in the same way. Education, which is also another important aspect in the development of a nation, was too mentioned in Modi`s speech where he said that the country`s primary education system needs to be strengthened. He added that there should be IIMs, IITs and AIIMS in every state. Ahead of the General Elections, Modi unveiled his five-point idea for the brand India. “We can help India become a global brand with Talent, trade, tradition, tourism and technology. Modi also promised to develop 100 smart cities across the country as his brand India idea. He also took up former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee`s favourite project of interlinking the rivers and promised to fulfil his dream project. The BJP`s PM candidate in his speech highlighted the seven colours of the rainbow - which denote India`s culture, agriculture, women force, natural resources (water, land, forests and environment), youth power, democracy and knowledge. He also assured change in current situation and said that the prime minister and all the chief ministers will work together as a team to take the nation forward.