Modi raised emotive issues, including the cleaning of the holy Ganga—referring to the river as “maa”, creating employment for locals involved in the handloom sector, farmer issues and employment opportunities for the youth and the poor.
He said his government in Gujarat had cleaned up the Sabarmati river, which used to be highly polluted a decade back, with the clean water of Narmada and asked why the same could not be done with river Ganga.
Modi also hit out at Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family, blaming them for poverty, unemployment and corruption plaguing the country.
Hitting back at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over his charge that some parties make promises that lie outside the realm of possibility, Modi said he does not make empty promises and the BJP is going to the people with firmly grounded intentions.
Earlier, he paid obeisance at Sankatmochan and Vishwanath temples.
