In his rhetoric, Modi for the first time revealed that he had seen his mother washing utensils in the homes of her neighbours to eke out a living.
Indirectly criticising Rahul Gandhi for his well-publicized stays at the homes of Dalits in UP, Modi said, "those who have lived their life in poverty need not travel to learn what poverty is."
"We have extracted cotton from cottonseeds and worked as labourer. My mother washed utensils in others' houses without a feeling of disappointment. People who have lived such life do not need to know what disappointment means", said Modi in a rhetorical flourish.
"When people level wild allegations against me, I sometimes wonder how great our country is, where people are supporting a man who used to sell tea in trains", said Modi.
The BJP prime ministerial aspirant said, this was the first Lok Sabha elections which was taking shape in the form of a people's movement, and the contribution of Swami Ramdev was a great one.
"Earlier elections were being fought on the basis of dynasties, castes and other combinations, but the atmosphere has now changed and elections are now being fought on the issues of development, which is a positive indication", said Modi.
Modi referred to how the Congress treated Swami Ramdev first by sending four senior ministers to welcome him at the airport and then lathicharging his supporters in the dead of night.
He said, "Baba has now learnt what politicians are. In the daytime, they go to the airport to welcome him, and at night they commit atrocities. I would request Baba Ramdev not to rely on mere talk, but look at the track record. Please give your blessings to those whose track record is fine".
Here is the live reporting of Narendra Modi's speech:
7:24 pm: Modi ends his speech with Bharat Mata Ki Jai.
7:23 pm: We will build a 'bhavya' (grand) Bharat, a 'divya' (divine) Bharat, says Modi. Five years later in 2019, we will celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, and eight years later in 2022 we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of our independence by fulfilling the dreams of our great freedom fighters, says Modi
7:20 pm: I promise you I will strive hard to fulfill the aspirations of Baba Ramdev and his Bharat Swabhiman organisation, says Modi amidst applause.
7:14 pm: Modi says, our party is seriously going through the present taxation system and we will soon come out with a detailed response.
7:02 pm: Modi says, state's policies must be progressive-based.
7 pm: Modi says, entire coal policy is at a standstill due to scam. In Gujarat, we had proposed auction for allotment of coal resources, but the Centre opposed it
6:58 PM: Modi reveals, his mother used to wash utensils at neighbour's houses to feed him and his siblings. She gave me the 'sanskars' (upbringing)
6: 57 pm: Modi: 2014 Lok Sabha polls will be historic, it will be break away from traditional LS elections
6:55 pm: Modi says, the word 'disappointment' is not there in my dictionary.
