Modi sounds poll bugle, slams UPA over Kashmir policy

Often described by critics as a divisive figure, Modi sought to portray himself as a leader who unifies, saying he would work for bringing parties and hearts together. Addressing a rally here, Modi invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said the task he left incomplete would be pursued by BJP if voted to power.

He attacked the United Progressive Alliance government over its Kashmir policy, economy and national security, saying it has failed on all fronts.

"Vajpayee had sought to win over the heart of Kashmir with compassion, love and dialogue...Had he been elected to power in 2004, he would have succeeded in his Kashmir policy," he said.

Kashmiri youths were aspiring for development and progress and they needed to be connected with the national mainstream.

"The youths in Kashmir valley want to be part of development. Guns can spill blood but will do no good to one's life," he told the Sankalp rally on the occasion of party founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee's 60th death anniversary.

He said, "Atal Bihari Vajpayee played a great role in addressing the Kashmir issue...If the national Democratic Alliance would have formed the government in 2004, the Kashmir issue would have been resolved. Kashmiri Pandits would have got justice. The youth of J&K would have been employed and the state would have seen development."

Invoking Mookerjee's slogan against two heads in one system, he said a similar situation exists today, referring to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "There are two bosses in the country and we do not know who of the two is genuine," he said.

Speaking of the rapid slide in the rupees' value against dollar, he said that the Congress was competing with rupees as to who could fall more.

Asking the people to vote out the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, Modi said, "Your (people's) future is not safe in their hands...we cannot play with the future of our youth".

He also took a dig at the advertising campaign run by the UPA government on various TV channels on flagship Bharat Nirman programme to highlight its achievements. "The advertisement said 'bharat ke nirman pe haq hai mera' (I have a right to India's development). I said 'bharat nirman pe shaq hai mera' (I have doubt over India's development)," he said in an dig at the UPA government.

Modi said during the past 10 days this campaign, on which crores of rupees had been spent, was not running and had been stopped after he expressed doubts over its claims.

The prime minister must explain as to what he did after Sarabjeet Singh died in Pakistan on May 2 after he was fatally attacked by inmates in prison, Modi said.

He should explain as to why his government was treating the then Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to a lavish lunch in Jaipur within days of the incident and  weeks after Indian soldiers were beheaded by Pakistanis near Line of Control, Modi said.

He heaped praise on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying youth employment during present UPA's rule is half of the employment provided by the erstwhile Vajpayee government.

Modi said he was saddened by the plight of the people of flood-ravaged Uttarakhand and said the people of the country were behind those who had been devastated by the natural tragedy.

Modi, who had visited the flood affected areas of Uttarakhand on Saturday, reached out to the people affected by the calamity saying, "I felt the grief after listening to painful tales of survivors rescued from Uttarakhand."

Modi, who was elevated to the post of BJP's poll campaign chief recently, was here to address 'Sankalp Rally' organised on the occasion of 60th death anniversary of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee near his statue here on the Pathankot-Jammu National Highway.

He recalled the bonds he shares with Punjab, which were formed when he was here as BJP's in-charge for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir.

He also mentioned his close relationship with the Punjab chief minister. He said he had worked closely with former Deputy Prime Minister, late Devi Lal and former Haryana Chief Minister, late Bansi Lal.

The rally was attended by BJP's ally in Punjab, ruling

Shiromani Akali Dal's leaders, including Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The others present included senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar and various MLAs and MPs.

Jan Sangh founder Mookerjee had held his last public meeting in Pathankot in 1953 before entering Jammu and Kashmir without a permit, which was mandatory then. He was arrested and died in detention on June 23, 1953.

The 18-feet-high statue of Mookerjee was unveiled by senior BJP leader L K Advani and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat on March 20, 2010 and the venue was named 'Ekta Sthal'.

Badal and Shanta Kumar also addressed the rally.