“Work done in 10 years is like an appetizer; main course yet to come”: PM Modi in Rajasthan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the works done by his government at the Centre in the last ten years are like a ‘trailer’ as there is more to come in the future.

Addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Churu, the PM said that the country has witnessed a change in the last ten years of his government.

“I want to tell you that all we’ve done (developments work) till now, is just a trailer. These days, when we go to big hotels to eat food, they first bring a few appetizers…so what Modi has done (till now) is an appetizer and the main course is yet to come. We have to take the country forward… In the last 10 years, you have seen the country change. Before that, the country was in a very bad condition,” the PM said.

The PM was campaigning for paralympic gold medalist Devendra Jhajharia who will represent the BJP in the Churu Lok Sabha seat in place of two-time MP Rahul Kaswan. After being denied the BJP ticket Kaswan crossed over to Congress and is now the party’s candidate from Churu.

In an attack on Congress, the PM said that the economic situation had deteriorated due to “Congress’s scams and loot”.

“Today the whole world is surprised as to how India is developing so fast. The world does not know that the soil of India is something different. Whatever we decide, we are able to achieve it. Due to the big scams and loot of Congress, the economy had collapsed and India’s reputation in the world was declining… Today the whole country is working towards the mission of ‘Viksit Bharat’. In this ‘Viksit Bharat’ mission, Rajasthan has a big role. When Rajasthan becomes developed, the whole nation will become developed,” the PM said.

In a veiled attack on Congress that released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, the PM said that his party- the BJP bring ‘Sankalp Patra’ unlike other parties.

“BJP definitely does what it says. Unlike other parties, BJP does not just release a manifesto, we come up with ‘Sankalp Patra’. Most of the resolutions we mentioned in 2019’s Sankalp Patra have been fulfilled,” PM Modi added.

Notably, the Congress party on Friday released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with emphasis given on tackling the issue of unemployment and defending the constitutional values of India. The manifesto also promises to investigate several schemes, from demonetisation to electoral bonds, introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and bring to law those who made illegal gains through it. It was released by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, along with senior leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and P Chidambaram.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the manifesto will be remembered in history for its focus on the five pillars of justice- Justice for Youth, Justice for Women’, Justice for Farmers, Justice for Workers, and Justice for Shareholders. In what could be a historic move, Congress has promised it will reserve 50 per cent of Union government jobs for women from 2025.

Rajasthan will go to the polls in two phases, on April 19 and April 26. Polling for 12 Lok Sabha seats will be held in the first phase on April 19, while the remaining 13 seats will be polled in the second phase on April 26.

In the first phase, voting will be held in 12 constituencies — Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur Rural, Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa and Nagaur.

In the second phase, voting will be held in 13 constituencies — Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota and Jhalawar-Baran.

The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19. Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast votes in the general election. Counting of the votes will be held on June 4.