PM Narendra Modi junks 'no Modi wave' theory of poll pundits

Concentrating his campaign blitz for the last 59 seats in the seventh and last phase of Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday debunked political pundits for claiming that there is no Modi wave like 2014 in the current elections.

"Pundits are claiming there is no wave...Stories are being planted from Delhi. Initially, they said there is no wave. The voting percentage is now higher than before. So they are worried," Modi said in a rally at Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh.

"They are not aware that there are two kinds of people who are creating records – my young friends who are voting for the first time and my mothers and sisters who have made up their mind to elect their brother who ensured the death penalty to rapists," added Modi.

The PM claimed that the so-called experts are not aware of the groundswell of "mothers and sisters" in his favour that forms the wave in each home.

He again used the faux pas "Hua toh hua" by Sam Pitroda, mentor of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in the context of 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, to his advantage.

Replying to a question on the riots, Pitroda, also the head of the Overseas Congress, said last week, "1984 hua toh hua but what about 5 years misrule of Modi government."

The Bhopal gas tragedy and scams like CWG, 2G spectrum and coal allocation happened under the watch of the Rahul Gandhi-led party, which brazenly says "hua toh hua" he said.

Reiterating that former PM Rajiv Gandhi used INS Viraat for "picnic", Modi recalled the sacrifice of Ratlam native Lieutenant Commander Dharmendra Singh Chouhan who was killed fighting fire aboard warship INS Vikramaditya. "On the other hand is the naamdar's family, who used a warship for a picnic. When questions are raised about it, they shamelessly say 'hua toh hua'," Modi said.

Later at a rally in Bathinda, Punjab, where all 13 constituencies will be voting on May 19, PM Modi specifically targeted Rahul Gandhi, saying why he is trying to shift the blame to his "guru Pitroda". He said, "It is the Congress president who should feel ashamed and apologise for 1984 riots."

The PM also attacked the Congress for giving Kartarpur Sahib, a revered place of Sikhs, to Pakistan during Partition. "It is shameful that the Congress is now hailing Pakistan instead of the Indian government that is making Kartarpur Sahib corridor."