Devendra Fadnavis: People will only vote for development

Boosting the confidence of the BJP cadre ahead of election year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the party was not afraid of any grand alliance of the Opposition, as the people had faith in BJP's work in the past four years.

"We are reaching out to the people with man-to-man and heart-to-heart connect. We want to work for the poor, and the Opposition just wants to distract people from our agenda of development," Fadnavis told the BJP delegates from Maharashtra at Bandra's Rang Sharada auditorium yesterday.

In a way the CM made the party's line clear in saying that the people wanted development and not the opposition that had ruined the state of affairs in their 15-year rule in the state. "We are neither afraid of Maha Gathbandhan nor Maha Maha Gathbandhan. We know the people will only vote for development and only for the BJP," he said. "I will present my data of (work done) in less than four years. Let the people of entire Maharashtra know how they have been cheated for decades by the Congress and NCP," the CM said.

Quality of work
Fadnavis talked about the achievements of his government which will complete four years on October 31. "We have spent Rs 30,000 crore on irrigation and another Rs 30,000 crore have been sought from the Centre. We have added 13 lakh hectares of irrigated land in just four years," he said.

Schemes that work
Harping on PM Modi's slogan, Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas, Fadnavis said the state had garnered the third position in country's education sector, and ensure several schemes for women empowerment.

He said the farmers who were given Rs 16,000 crore in assistance would remain one of the priorities. "Food grain purchased during their 15 years was Rs 450 cr whereas we spent Rs 8,200 crore in our four years giving more money to the farmers."

Fake news
The CM said the Opposition was circulating fake news on drought-affected areas. "In fact, we have made 16,000 villages drought free. The Congress-NCP can't compete with BJP on development. So, they have started dirty politics of misinformation and fake news."

Considering resentment in the Maratha community that forms the largest chunk of voters in the state, he chose to highlight the measures that have been taken to woo the aggrieved community.

Respond to Opp in the same vein: Gadkari
Union minister Nitin Gadkari has asked BJP workers to give it back to the Opposition which is making serious corruption charges against the government. "The Opposition has no issues, so it is raking up baseless allegations. Respond to them with aggression," he said. "(Late) Atal ji (Vajpayee) and countless workers have worked hard for the party which is now shaping up India. Modi has been working for the underprivileged and farmers. We have made unforeseen development in infrastructure creation. The Opposition cannot take this anymore and hence is making a wild allegation in Rafale deal," he added.

Congress seeks PM's resignation
Senior Congress leaders led a protest march in the city yesterday demanding an inquiry into the Rafale deal. Party's general secretary Mallikarjun Kharge launched a scathing attack on the government, asking the PM to clarify on the deal, crime against women and minorities. The Opposition leader in Lok Sabha challenged the PM to declare authentic information about the Rafale deal and tell the people it was in the interest of the nation. "Or else the PM and Defence minister should quit," he said. Later, a delegation of Cong leaders met Governor and handed him a memorandum seeking a joint parliamentary committee probe in the alleged scam.

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