Punjab: No takers for Narendra Modi

by Guest Sat Apr 19, 2014 5:14 pm

While most of them shook their heads to a question about voting to make Mr. Modi the next prime minister, one among the group of elders sitting at the bus stop of Badal village, said they did not want riots in Punjab. Nor were they prepared to see the State become a mono-cultural society. “Our memory is still fresh about a news story of the Gujarat riots when a pregnant woman and her baby were put to death in the most barbaric manner,” he said....

Sukhdev Singh at Lambi’s bus stand says, “We are indebted to Badal Sahib. He has changed the destiny of this region, which was once the most backward area of the State. But after hearing stories of harassment of Punjabi farmers in the Kutch region of Gujarat, it is difficult to trust Mr. Modi.”

Jiwanjeet Singh, who runs a small eatery in Malout town, which is another Assembly constituency, says that in the run-up to his anointment as Prime Ministerial nominee, Mr. Modi has been ruthless in reducing senior leaders within his own party. “How can we believe that he would not put Mr. Badal to the same fate?”

A petty shopkeeper in Jalalabad, Dinesh, and some of his friends, who voted for Mr. Sukhbir Singh in the 2012 Assembly polls and Sher Singh Ghubaya in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, say they have “changed their mind this time” as Mr. Modi’s anti-Pakistan stance does not invoke any confidence. “First we survived the era of terrorism. Then for almost two years the Indian Army was deployed, with war clouds hovering over us. We need peace and development, which may not be possible if Mr. Modi takes a hostile stance,” says Dinesh, reminding that the entire Ferozepur district has been denied large development projects since 1947 because it was located along the volatile border with Pakistan.

The group feels that improvement in ties with Pakistan, which augured well for the region, would receive a setback with Mr. Modi becoming Prime Minister.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-badals-backyard-no-takers-for-modi/article5929549.ece?homepage=true

by Guest Sat Apr 19, 2014 5:15 pm

What this also means is that Modi's buddy Jaitley who is contesting from Amritsar is now in trouble.

Punjab: No takers for Narendra Modi

Punjab: No takers for Narendra Modi

Re: Punjab: No takers for Narendra Modi