Speaking at Dwarka earlier, Modi recalled an incident when there was an advertisement on the front page of newspapers announcing the then chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki's arrival for inaugurating a water tank in Jamnagar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is under attack over the falling economic growth, on Saturday took a swipe at the Congress over economic progress under its governments, saying the Opposition's definition of development was very different from his.
"The definition of development has changed. Earlier, leaders used to install a hand pump and ask for vote in its name for three elections," Modi said without naming the Congress. Modi was speaking at a public gathering at Chotila after laying the foundation stone for a new airport at Rajkot.
Speaking at Dwarka earlier, Modi recalled an incident when there was an advertisement on the front page of newspapers announcing the then chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki's arrival for inaugurating a water tank in Jamnagar.
"Look at the difference in the vision of the government then and the government now. Giving full page advertisement on front page for inauguration of a water tank shows how narrow their vision of development was," he said on the first day of his two-day visit to his home state.
"There is no substitute for development. Everybody, even a very poor person, wants development. If you ask any poor person if he wants a house, he would say yes. You cannot give houses to the poor without development," Modi said.
The attack on the Congress is seen as a response to the intense criticism the NDA government is facing for its poor handling of the economy and falling growth rates in the wake of demonetization and GST.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had recently castigated the Modi government over the Gujarat model of development, saying "vikas (development) has gone mad", during his recent three-day campaign visit to the state.
In his address, Modi also asked if people had ever thought that a small town like Chotila would have an airport. Stating that there is no substitute for development, the PM said he want to make flying affordable for everyone, and expressed confidence that the airport would give wings to the development of Surendranagar as well as Rajkot.
"Did you ever think that Chotila would have an airport? Did people of Surendranagar ever think that an airport will be built here?" Modi asked the gathering.
"Should an airport be built here, will you people like it? Once airport is built, planes will fly from here. Is it not development?" Modi asked, and the crowd responded with a resounding "yes".
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