Live reporting: Modi promises to close down detention camps in Assam

Silchar: Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today promised to close down all detention camps in Assam if BJP comes to power at the centre.Launching a blistering attack on the policies of Congress government with regard to Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh, Modi said that if any Hindu from any part of the world is in trouble then he has all the rights to come and settle down in India.Recalling his association with Assam, Modi said that although he is neither an MP nor MLA from the state, he has done lot of work in different parts of the state and that there will not be a single district where he would not have spent a night. He took potshots at the Assam Chief Minister for being out of state in 2012 when the state was facing a severe flood. Modi recalled that when the Assam CM was asked to explain his absence then he said that he was on a tour to US to study flood management.“The tea industry has given an identity to Assam and for the last 150 years, labourers from others parts of the country have come here and worked hard to ensure the world gets its tea,” Modi said. The living condition of the tea garden labourers were, however, deplorable and there has been no improvement in their living conditions over four to five generations, said Modi whose party has set up tea stalls to highlight his humble background of a tea seller.“The industry earns crores of dollars in foreign exchange and the product reaches every home but both Central and Assam governments has paid no attention to the workers,” he said.The Gujarat chief minister asked, “Will they continue to live like this? Are they not entitled to proper houses, education for their children, health facilities and a dignified life?”If voted to power, Modi said, he would initiate several schemes for the development and progress of tea garden labourers.He also attacked the Congress government for creating a divide among tea gardens of Brahmaputra and Barak Valley. “Why are wage rate of labourers in Brahmaputra Valley different from that of Barak Valley? Should labourers in the industry not get the same wage?”Modi pointed out that this neglect of tea gardens in Barak Valley has resulted in sick gardens with labourers suffering and unemployment on the rise. “Congress should be ashamed of this. They consider the Bangladeshis as their own but not the tea garden labourers of Barak Valley,” he added.Here we are giving you live updates of this rally:03:25pm - Modi concludes his speech with chants of "Vande Mataram"03:20pm - Modi:Nation and our youth cannot wait any further. Poor and youth are suffering.Youth from Northeast have rich potential in sports. Why cannot we have a sports university in this part?There must not be any trace of Congress in this state3:15pm - Modi:What happened to the son of Arunachal Pradesh in Delhi was wrong. What happened to the daughter of Manipur was equally wrong. Why there should be no AIIMS like hospital in Assam?03:14pm - Modi:In 2012, your state witnessed severe flood but your CM was bust visiting America and Japan.When your CM was asked he said I had gone to study flood management. Can we trust our future in such hands03:13pm - Modi: India's PM is your MP. I'm neither an MP or MLA from your state but there is not one district where I have not spent a night.3.11pm- Modi:We need both Laxmi and Saraswati. Laxmi will sit on lotus.03.10pm- Modi:I have heard when your CM comes to know I am coming he gets sleepless nights.Your CM came here a few days ago and made promises that he did not do for years...do not trust Congress ever again.03.05pm- Modi: Children of those working in tea gardens should get education and all other opportunities.Why is Congress dividing Brahmaputra and Barak valley? Why different rates for those working in tea cultivation industry.The government is Assam cannot do any good for you03.00pm- Modi: It's not proper to ask Assam to take all the Hindu immigrants from Bangaldesh. All states must contribute and they must be treated well.And the infiltrators who have come for political purposes must be sent back there. Rights of people cannot be snatched like this.02:55pm- Modi:Be it any nation, if a Hindu is troubled there where will he go? will he not come to India? Be it Fiji or America, if a Hindu is in trouble then he will definitely come to India.Should they be treated in the same way as they are treated elsewhere? No, we cannot do that.02:50pm- Modi:After forming the government, I promise you, we will finish the detention camps. Assam Government cannot rise above votebank politics. The way they abused human rights in name of detention camps is reprehensible.Arjun did not die for himself. He died for the sake of lakhs of people suffering in detention camps.02:48pm- Modi: The election of 2014 will be the beginning of the end of the Congress. After this election, the entire nation will become “Congress free India”02:45pm- Modi: Assam a blessed state. But who has looted Assam? Next to Assam is Bangaldesh and next to Gujarat is Pakistan. Due to Bangaldesh, people of Assam are worried and due to me Pakistan is worried.02:42pm-Modi: Never seen such a wave in Assam that I am seeing now.This wave is going to become a tsunami and the Congress will not been seen anywhere after these elections.02:40pm- Modi begins his speech at SilcharEarlier speaking at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, Narendra Modi blasted the Congress governments both at centre as well as in Arunachal Pradesh for their failure in meeting the aspirations of the people of Arunachal Pradesh.Modi said that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and will always remain so. He praised the people of Arunachal Pradesh for defeating the evil designs of China.Modi expressed his grief over the killing of of Nido, a youth from Arunachal Pradesh, in Delhi.Modi charged the union government with not listening to his own government in Arunacahal Pradesh.Modi also said that three Hs - Herbal, Horticulture and Handicrafts, can give lot of opportunities to the people in Arunachal Pradesh.Wading into a foreign policy issue for the first time, Narendra Modi today asked China to shed its "expansionist mindset", making it clear that no power on earth can snatch Arunachal Pradesh from India."China should shed its expansionist policy and forge bilateral ties with India for peace, progress and prosperity of both the nations," the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate said addressing a meeting here in his current election campaign."Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and will always remain so. No power can snatch it from us. People of Arunachal Pradesh didn't come under pressure or fear of China," he said."I swear in the name of this soil that I will never allow the state to disappear...Breakdown and to bow down," Modi said to a thunderous applause from people gathered near the mighty Siang River.He said China should shed its expansionist mindset because the world of today does not accept it. The entire world is moving towards development, he said."China needs to change its stand. China should shed its expansionist mindset and adopt the plank of development. Focus is on the development all over the world," the Gujarat Chief Minister said.Lauding the patriotic nature of the people, Modi said that because of the people, who were guarding the state as well as the country as sentinels, Arunachal remained an integral part of the country."The people here are real patriots as they salute their counterparts with 'Jai Hind' and are zealously protecting the state's territory..... They gave a befitting reply to the advancing Chinese army during 1962 and the British and several army personnel from the state also fought with Pakistan during the Kargil war," he said.While directly referring to the January 29 murder of Arunachal Pradesh youth Nido Tania in Delhi, Modi cautioned the UPA government against underestimating the people of the state and added that it was the duty of the entire nation to protect the people and the state's territorial integrity.After this rally, Modi left for Silchar in Assam, where he will address Barak Bikas Samabesh Rally between 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm.He will then go to Agartala, the capital of Tripura, where he will address Nava Chetna Rally between 4 pm and 6:30 pm.Here are the live updates:2:25 pm: Modi reaches Silchar rally venue, welcomed by local party leaders. Wears different headgear here. 12:40 pm: Modi: The chief minister of Arunchal Pradesh, who belongs to Congress party, had criticised his own party's government at the Centre for lack of development of his state 12: 38 pm: Modi wearing a tribal headgear says, we want development for Arunchal Pradesh. 12:35 pm: Modi: Foreign powers are trying to destory our younger generation by making them addicts to narcotics. Extremists are bringing in arms and destroying the social fabric. It should be our collective responsibility to provide infrastructure and development to Arunachal Pradesh. 12:34 pm: Modi : The security of Aruchanal Pradesh must be paramount. But the youths have to go outside the state in search of jobs and education. There are no facilities here. 12:31 pm: Modi says, for vastu shastris the North-East corner is always auspicious. The eight states of Northeast are auspicious for a great country like India. If we make Northeast prosperous, India will automatically become prosperous.12:30 pm: Modi : lotus is bound to bloom in India, and Goddess Laxmi will surely come and make India prosperous. 11:55am- Modi: Saugandh mujhe is mitti ki mai desh nahi mitne doonga, mai desh nahi tootne doonga, mai desh nahi jhukne doonga.11:50 am- Modi: H- Herbal, Horticulture and Handicrafts. These 3 Hs can give lot of opportunities to the people here11:49am- Modi: Look at the tourism potential here! This land is no less than a Switzerland. We can bring tourists from all over to this land. Buddhist tourism has a lot of potential here. It is a legacy of so many years.11:48am - Modi: I come to you with the resolve & promise to carry forward the good work that Atalji and NDA government started11:47am – Modi:Today I have come with a heavy heart to Arunachal. A son of this land was killed in Delhi.I pray to Almighty to bless Nido's family. The blood in your veins is the same blood that flows in my veins11:46am – Modi: China needs to change its stand. No power in this world can snatch away our territory11:45am – Modi:If it was not for the patriotism of Arunachal Pradesh, nobody knows what would have happened. People here are standing firm against China.People of this land did not come under pressure from China. The chants of 'Jai Hind' reverberates in this land.11:44am – Modi: This is orchard of India...see the beauty of this land. I am told this rally is the biggest in Arunachal Pradesh.This land is a paradise for botanists.Pasighat is a gateway of Arunachal. This is a land of the brave.11:37am – Modi: The 1st rays of the sun bless this land. Arunachal Pradesh wakes up first and then the rest of India rises. The final rays of the sun set in Gujarat and tell us, we will rise again tomorrow in Arunachal Pradesh.11:36am – Modi: I come from Gujarat, a land that has very old and close relations with Arunachal Pradesh. The relation between Gujarat & Arunachal Pradesh brings the eastern and western part of our country together.11:35am – Modi begins his speech with ‘Jai Hind' in Pasighat11:30 am: In Silchar's Barak Bikash Samabesh Rally, several thousand people have gathered. Some of the local residents say, they have high hopes if BJP forms govt at the Centre, because Barak is completely cut off from rest of India, and has no communication facilities.8 am: Police deployed at Pasighat General Ground alongwith metal detectors to check visitors to the rally.