India now capable of doing 'chowkidari' in space, oppn belittling achievement: PM

Hailing India's newly acquired capability of doing "chowkidari" in space, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday asked voters to punish the opposition for "belittling and insulting" the armed forces and scientists by questioning their achievements. Kicking off his campaign for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls in Odisha from here, Modi said people had to decide whether they wanted a "mazboot" (strong) government which was decisive or a "kamzor" (weak) dispensation that only raised slogans.

"India is now capable of doing chowkidari (keep a vigil) in space. But opposition parties are belittling the achievement. They also insulted the defence forces by doubting the air strike conducted inside Pakistan. "Those who belittle our anti-satellite capability will be taught a lesson by the people...While Pakistan is busy counting the bodies of terrorists for the last one month after the air strike in Balakot, opposition parties are not ready to accept the success of the operation conducted by our Air Force....they want proof," he said.

In his hard-hitting speech, Modi said people had to make up their mind before casting their votes as to whether they want a government which "strikes right inside terrorist camps or which bows its head and turns tail". "Do you want a 'mazboot' government or a 'majboor and kamzor' (helpless and weak) government?" he asked the gathering.

Odisha became witness to the historic moment that showed the world India's capability to keep a vigil in space, Modi said, apparently referring to the base in the state from where the A-SAT missile, which shot down a disused satellite, was launched, catapulting India into the league of space powers like the US, Russia and China. Accusing the Congress of having betrayed the poor for seven decades, he said people will teach the grand old party a lesson in the elections as it was responsible for widespread poverty.

Underlining that the 2019 elections were not just for electing MPs and MLAs, the prime minister said its goal was to put in place strong governments that delivered with speed. Modi said he was on a journey across the country to thank people for their support and seek their blessings.

With "chowkidar" (watchman or sentinel) having become the buzzword in the rancorous electoral discourse after Rahul Gandhi coined the slogan "chowkidar chor hai" (the watchman is thief), Modi asked the audience to raise his own rallying cry "Main bhi chowkidar" (I too am a watchman), and the crowd obliged. In the run-up to the 2014 elections, Modi had said he did not want to become the prime minister but a "chowkidar" to the nation and its "pradhan sevak" (chief servant).

He lamented that Odisha had remained poor despite being endowed with natural resources. "Odisha is rich in natural resources but people are poor. This proves that successive governments have failed to develop Odisha. The BJD government has also kept the people of Odisha away from the benefits of the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

It deprived the poor of their right to quality healthcare. "A double engine government of the BJP at the Centre and in the state will benefit the people here. Odisha will become stronger only when tribals, farmers and youth have proper means of income," he said.

He alleged that the state's ruling BJD was mired in several controversies, including chit fund scams that robbed people of their hard-earned money. "Can those involved in chit fund schemes make Odisha strong? In the last seven decades, what did the state governments do to alleviate poverty? This is the right time to punish the Congress and the BJD, who had ample time to develop the region but did nothing noteworthy," he said.