Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took on everyone in the Opposition on a number of issues — ranging from demonetisation and its fallout to the development of Uttar Pradesh and his achievements since assuming power at the Centre in 2014 — at a Parivartan Rally in Kanpur.
The UP Assembly elections are just around the corner — expected to be held in the first few months of 2017 — and all political parties are looking to score big in it. After all, UP has sent the most number of prime ministers to power, and as Modi put it on Monday, "gave the country a stable government" after several years.
Here are 10 important things Modi said at the rally:
1. There is not a wave but a storm of change in Uttar Pradesh.
2. Around 65 percent of India's population are below the age of 35. Our youth can take India to new heights of progress.
3. Uttar Pradesh has managed to give the country a stable government after 30 years. You have elected a government that is fully dedicated to the welfare of the poor, the marginalised, the Dalit communities.
4. Our agenda is to end corruption and black money, but the Opposition's agenda is to stall Parliament. They continued to raise slogans and disrupt proceedings despite the President's rebuke.
5. The people of Uttar Pradesh are disillusioned with the hooliganism in the state. This goondaism will continue unless the government in Lucknow changes.
6. The president has suggested that Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections be held simultaneously. Why not adopt that suggestion?
7. The BJP welcomes the recommendation of the Election Commission [to ban anonymous donations of above Rs 2,000]. I had called an all-party meeting to discuss this at the beginning of my tenure, but was snubbed.
8. The people who say it was Rajiv Gandhi who brought the computer and mobile phone to India are the ones now complaining that the poor do not have mobiles.
9. They [the Opposition parties] say the poor do not have bank accounts, and then claim that the poor are unable to access their bank accounts. Why is this flip-flop?
10. I know what the people of the country have gone through following demonetisation. The world will not remember the prime minister under whom demonetisation took place, but the people who made it possible.
Watch the full speech here:
