Kolkata, Jan 17: Before starting his address at a public rally in Malda in West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged several people to “come down” from the poles they had climbed to see and hear him.
“I know many people cannot see me, but they can definitely hear my voice and the beating of my heart. I can see several people have climbed up the poles to see me, but your life is more precious. I will be crestfallen if anything happens to you all and if you all get hurt. Your love for me is my world,” said Modi.
Reference to 2018 Midnapore incident
Notably, in 2018, a political controversy erupted after a tent collapsed, injuring at least 90 people at Midnapore during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally. The tent that collapsed was beside the dais, and soon after the untoward incident, the Prime Minister had immediately instructed the Special Protection Group (SPG) to attend to the injured people.
Speech paused for safety
The Prime Minister immediately stopped his speech and repeatedly asked others who were still on the poles to come down. Modi later also visited the hospital where the injured people were admitted.
Attack on TMC government
Following the inauguration of the country’s first Vande Bharat sleeper train between Howrah and Guwahati, Modi, during the public rally after the situation was brought under control and people came down from the poles, launched a scathing attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in Bengal.
“If TMC is not ousted from power, then the poor people of Bengal will be deprived of the schemes of the Central government. Bengal is the only state where people don’t get the benefit of free health insurance up to Rs 5 lakh. Shouldn’t the people of Bengal receive the benefits of this free electricity scheme? Bengal is surrounded on all sides by good governance of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments. Now it’s time for good governance in Bengal,” said Modi.
Assurance to refugees
The Prime Minister also assured refugees, including the Matuas who migrated to India due to religious persecution, that they would be given citizenship.
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Poll victories cited
Referring to the recent victories of the saffron camp at civic polls in Maharashtra and Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, Modi said, “Nobody had thought that BJP would win at those places. The new generation is trusting BJP. After Bihar, BJP will also win Bengal.”
