Apos;Yes We Can Yes We apos;ll Do It apos; Modi Launches BJP apos;s 2014 Campaign With Massive Rally At Hyderabad

'Yes we can! Yes we'll do it!' Modi launches BJP's 2014 campaign with massive rally at Hyderabad
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Published: 00:22 BST, 12 August 2013 | Updated: 00:22 BST, 12 August 2013
</a> Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi ended a fiery 45-minute speech with the Obama-inspired phrase "Yes we can!"

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday set the tone for the Bharatiya Janata Party's election campaign, calling upon a massive gathering in Hyderabad to oust the "Delhi Sultanate" before ending a fiery 45-minute speech with the Obama-esque flourish of 'yes we can, yes we'll do'.




Addressing a convention of youth at the sprawling Lal Bahadur Stadium in the heart of Hyderabad, Modi exhorted the people to strive towards a Congress-free India.


Modi devoted most of his speech, his first such engagement in south India after taking over as the BJP national campaign committee chairman, to explaining how nine years of UPA rule has ruined the nation.


"The UPA government's inaction on various issues has created a sort of trust deficit among the people and they have gradually lost faith. They have realised that the government in Delhi cannot provide them protection," he said, hammering the Congress with dramatic gestures and considered inflexions at every turn.


The recent killings on the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan were the jump-off point as Modi lashed the Congress-led ruling coalition with a stream of rhetoric.




"When our soldier was beheaded by Pakistani soldiers, our government treated the Pakistan Prime Minister to lavish biryani. Why should it follow protocol with a nation that kills and decapitates our soldiers?" he asked a rapt crowd, every one of whom had paid Rs 5 as entry fee, a first in Indian politics.

Switching seamlessly to the recent Chinese incursions in the Ladakh area, Modi condemned the UPA government for compromising with Beijing, saying that the Indian Army was asked to withdraw from its own territory.

Modi's sarcasm was acidic. 

"What is worse, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid praises Beijing, saying he would live there. The government should be ashamed of itself," he said.


Modi also recalled how Italian marines had shot two Kerala fishermen. "They were arrested but given bail and allowed to go back to their own country. Whose influence was it?" he questioned.


Welcome: Narendra Modi with Andhra Pradesh BJP President Kishan Reddy in Hyderabad

Referring to the violence at Kishtwar in Kashmir, he said the government was not bothered despite the locals suffering heavy losses.




"Our senior leader Arun Jaitley wanted to review the situation in Kishtwar today, but the Jammu and Kashmir government prevented him from visiting to hide the truth. He was detained at the Jammu airport," he said.



Modi also criticised the Centre for playing votebank politics over immigrants from Bangladesh.


The BJP's most likely prime ministerial candidate said the UPA government is not taking any issue seriously.




"It is not bothered about the country's future. And I am very worried about the youth of their country. What will happen to them if things go on like this?" he asked.


Ridiculing the Congress catchphrase of 'inclusive growth', Modi wondered why the Congress party was talking about it only now.




"It is because the Congress has excluded everyone from the development and growth in the last 60 years," he said.
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The Gujarat chief minister recalled that veteran BJP leader L.K.

Advani had taken out a rath yatra to highlight the need of bringing back black money stashed in foreign bank accounts, but the government had not paid any attention to it.


On the Food Security Bill, Modi said the country had achieved food security long ago during the Vajpayee regime before 2004.

"The Centre should learn a lesson from the modified public distribution system being implemented by the Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh, which was appreciated even by Supreme Court. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has introduced Ladli Lakshmi Yojana for the girl child. And even the Jayalalithaa government in Tamil Nadu has been implementing skill development programmes. The Centre should emulate these states," he said.




Modi pointed at the falling economy, blaming the Congress for it.


"When India got independence, the value of rupee was equal to one US dollar. Now, the value of a US dollar is as much as the age of our finance minister," he said.




On the contentious Telangana statehood issue, Modi criticised the way the Congress had handled the issue.


"The BJP has also promised Telangana state, but not at the cost of Seemandhra. The Congress government now talks about Hyderabad being made a common capital for 10 years. What was it doing in the last 10 years and why did it not take steps to create a separate capital for Seemandhra during this period?" he asked.




Modi recalled that when Chhattisgarh was formed, there were celebrations in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.


"But in Andhra, the Congress party has pitted brother against brother. Our party has always been in favour of Telangana. But for us, Seemandhra is equally important. I come from Gujarat, the land of Gandhi and Sardar Patel. I appeal to you, no matter what games Congress plays, don't fight amongst yourselves," Modi said.




The BJP leader tried to woo the Telugu Desam Party by invoking late chief minister NT Rama Rao.


"It was NTR who had taken the initiative to form the non-Congress front. The biggest tribute that we can give to the great NTR is to rid the country of the Congress party. I hope the TDP will carry forward the legacy of NTR," he said.




He signed off his speech by asserting that the government should have only religion - India First; only one devotion - towards India; only one holy book - Constitution of India; only one power - power of crores of people; only one worship-welfare of millions and only one way of functioning- sabka sath, sabka vikas (with everybody and develop everybody).




It was then that Modi did an Obama, calling upon the crowd to chant 'yes we can' with him, and changing it to 'yes we'll do' once his lead had been taken in an echo that reverberated throughout the stadium.









'Modi is PM nominee for sure' By Mail Today in New Delhi
BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy thinks Modi is guaranteed the party's PM nomination

BJP general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy has said it's only a matter of time before the party announces the name of Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate.




"As a member of the party, I think this announcement has to be made -be it August or just after it. I can't tell you the exact time, but this decision has almost been taken. The BJP will soon announce the name of Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate," Rudy told Rahul Kanwal on AajTak's Seedhi Baat programme.




When it was pointed out that several BJP leaders had expressed their reservations on the Gujarat CM's name for the top post, he said there is no turning back on the issue.

"The youth of the country want this (Modi as Prime Minister). We have moved ahead on the matter and can't go back now."


Rudy said the BJP will fight the forthcoming electoral battle under the leadership of Modi and will form a stable government at the Centre.




Commenting on actor Raza Murad's remarks against Modi on Eid, the BJP leader said: "Raza Murad is associated with the film industry, but Narendra Modi is a real life hero…There is no logic."


On prodding further, Rudy said, "Who says Modi does not believe in other religions? Not wearing a skull cap is his own choice."




'Feku' beats 'NaMo' in grand tweet face-off By Mail Today in New Delhi
Congress Minister Ajay Maken noted that #fekuexpress was the top 'trending topic' on Twitter

The army of Narendra Modi's followers on Twitter was in for a rude shock on Sunday as it was virtually ambushed by Congress supporters who had a field time attacking the former's speech with such hashtags as "fekuexpress" and "yeswecant".




Feku, or fibber, has become the Congress' byword for Modi ever since they first employed the term to nail his alleged exaggerations during a speech made to FICCI in April this year.


With fekuexpress, the Congress' team sought to cash in on the popularity of Chennai Express, the Shah Rukh-Deepika film that released on Friday, on Twitter.

And cash in they did - #fekuexpress was the top trending topic for much of Sunday evening following Modi's speech in Hyderabad.

"Yeswecan't" on the other hand was a spoof on "yes we can", the phrase Barack Obama chanted to victory in 2012 and which Modi got the audience to repeat after him as he ended his speech.



As has been the case with all of Modi's speeches over the past few months, the one in Hyderabad generated a great deal of heat and dust on Twitter with pro-Modi and anti-Modi users engaging in a fierce battle on the micro-blogging site.




The BJP, which has an extremely effective social media cell, began the build-up to Sunday's speech a few days in advance by posting tweets with the hashtags #ModiInHyd and #NamoInHyd.


The Congress' campaign, though, began just ahead of his speech - but still managed to steal the BJP's thunder.

The anti-Modi brigade even organised a contest on Twitter, promising prizes for those who accurately guess the "tall claims" Modi would make in his speech.




Shivraj praises 'iron man' Modi By Anup Dutta in Bhopal

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, www.reddit.com who has often been pitched against Narendra Modi by a section of BJP leaders, has compared his Gujarat counterpart with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, popularly known as the 'Iron Man of India'.




"The stature and work of Shri Narendra Modi can only be compared with Sardar Patel," he tweeted on the eve of Modi's mega rally in Hyderabad to kick off BJP's campaign for the 2014 general elections.


Chouhan's remark suggests that the BJP leaders opposed to Modi's ascension within the party are slowly falling in line and accepting the Gujarat CM in his new role as the chairman of the party's election campaign committee.



Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (left) compared Modi to freedom fighter Sardar Patel (right)


Taking strong exception to the comparison of Modi with Sardar Patel, Congress leader Rashid Alvi said it was a severe disrespect to the freedom fighter.




"If anyone compares Narendra Modi with Sardar Patel, I believe it is disrespect to Sardar Patel. Sardar Patel spent his life in jails for the independence of this country… This kind of comparison is extremely unfortunate," he said.



In the last few months, when Modi was being cheered on as the likely prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, Chouhan was projected by Modi's opponents in the party, especially veteran leader L.K. Advani, as a better administrator.

In June, before Modi's elevation, Advani controversially commented that the development in Madhya Pradesh was a bigger achievement than the economic development in Gujarat.




Last month, Chouhan, who is preparing for the Assembly elections scheduled for later this year, refused to give space to Modi in the party's posters.


Those who figure in these posters are Advani, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.