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BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY Salient points in the speech by Shri L.K. Advani Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha) At a ‘Vijay Sankalp’ rally in Rourkela (Orissa) : 29.06.2008
Dear people of Orissa, I am pleased to be with you today at this rally, which is a part of the nationwide ‘Vijay Sankalp’ campaign of rallies launched by my party. Coming to Rourkela fills me with pride because this part of Orissa and its surrounding regions have made a proud contribution to both India’s independence and India’s nation-building in the post-1947 era. Rourkela is one of the earliest names that shone on the industrial map of independent India. The steel plant and the fertilizer plant served India’s needs at a time when India’s industrialization was at a nascent stage. Even today Rourkela is one of the finest industrial townships in India. I salute the people of Rourkela, and especially the workers, engineers and managers of the various industries in and around Rourkela, for their dedicated contribution to India’s development. But India’s post-1947 development would not have been possible — indeed, 1947 itself would not have been possible — without the struggles and sacrifices of countless martyrs and patriotic heroes aimed at liberating India from the British rule. And here again, Orissa, and this part of India which is populated mainly by tribals, has made an ever-shining contribution. Today I salute the sacred memory of Birsa Munda, Nirmal Munda, Bir Surendra Sai, and other tribal heroes of India’s Independence Movement. Birsa Munda was only 25 years old by the time he attained martyrdom. But he became “Bhagwan Birsa” to the people of this part of India. As you are aware, in May this year, we concluded the year-long commemoration of the 150th anniversary of India’s First War of Independence in 1857. Although we call it the “First War of Independence” — and it was indeed the first nationwide armed uprising against the British — there were inspiring episodes of localized armed resistance against the colonial rulers in several parts of the country. Thus, Nirmal Munda became a martyr to the cause of India’s independence nearly 30 years before what the British called “Sipahi Bidroh”. Bir Sundrenda Sai was a hero of the “Sipahi Bidroh”. And Birsa Munda was a hero in the post-“Sipahi Bidrohi” period. We thus see that Orissa and this part of India have a continuous history of anti-colonial struggles. Of course, I also salute the memory of Utkalamani Pundit Gopabandhu Das, Utkal Gouraba Madhusudan Das, Harekrushna Mahatab, Fakir Mohan Senapati, and many other great patriotic leaders of the Freedom Movement in Orissa. And, lastly, the great name of Biju Patnaik. I had the good fortune of having interacted closely with Bijubabu, who was a stalwart in the anti-Congress movement and one of the main pillars of the Janata Dal. He participated not only in India’s independence struggle but also, uniquely, in Indonesia’s liberation struggle. It is unfortunate that Biju Patnaik has not been adequately honoured outside Orissa. The Congress party has a conspiracy to project only those belonging to the Nehru family as national heroes, and others, grudgingly, as regional heroes. Most of the national programmes and national institutions are named after members of the Nehru family. This mindset must be changed, and we will change it if we get the mandate to form the next government in New Delhi. Shri Navin Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Orissa, is truly a worthy successor to the legacy of Bijubabu. Under his leadership, the state has been making rapid and all-round progress. Orissa has become a preferred destination for large-scale investments in industry and business. I would especially congratulate Shri Navinbabu for the proactive and sincere steps he has taken to remove regional imbalances in Orissa. Recognising that the ten Western Orissa districts lag behind their counterparts of coastal districts, he took the initiative to set up the Western Orissa Development Council in 2001. The Council has identified, and begun to address, sectors-wise deficiencies in development in irrigation, roads and communications, health, education and rural electrification. I assure the people of western Orissa that, in the event of an NDA government being voted to power in New Delhi, we shall provide all possible assistance for the accelerated development of Orissa in general and western Orissa in particular. Friends, my party, the BJP, has an alliance with the Biju Janata Dal I Orissia. We are also together in the NDA at the national level. Shri Naveenbabu was ministerial colleague in the Vajpayee government. My close association with him continued when he became the Chief Minister of Orissa in 2000. He is not only a capable Chief Minister, but also an honest Chief Minister, one who has a spotless image. Ours is not a fair-weather friendship, not an alliance of intrigues and accusations. We in the NDA consult each other on all important issues and take a consensus decision. And Naveenbabu has always acted with a great sense of responsibility. Thus, we have a perfect partnership between the BJP and BJD, both at the state level and national level. Contrast this with the kind messy situation that has developed in the UPA government at the Centre. This is not a coalition government, but a collision government. The Congress and the Communists have been fighting for more than a year, bringing the government of Dr. Manmohan Singh to a standstill. A weak government led by a weak Prime Minister has become worse on account of this infighting. The government has no time to attend to the burning problems facing the people and the formidable challenges before the nation. The rate of inflation has crossed 11 %, which is a 13-year record. This has pauperised millions of Indian families, including middle-class families. The common man has a daily experience of his reduced purchasing power when he goes out to buy rice, dal, vegetables, milk, sugar, cooking oil, medicines and other essential items. The task of managing the national economy, especially inflation-related aspects of the economy, is that of the Central government, not state governments. Therefore, the Congress is to blame for the people’s plight on account of price rise. The Congress party has betrayed the common man, and it must be made to pay the price for its betrayal. The Congress party has betrayed the nation by neglecting its responsibility in fighting terrorism and naxalism, and it must be made to pay the price for its failure. The Congress party must be made to pay the price also because of its callous neglect of infrastructure development. Let me remind you that when I had come to western Orissa during my Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra in 1997, to mark the golden jubilee of India’s independence, I was so impressed by the short ride on the newly built 200-kilometer-long expressway between Sambalpur and Rourkela, that I had said, “If we come to power at the Centre, we shall build similar top-quality highways all over the country.” The Vajpayee government, which came into being in 1998, did exactly that. Work began on constructing 15,000-km-long world-class highways under the National Highway Development Project. By the time we left office in 2004, many stretches of this highway were already operational. Unfortunately, work on the National Highway Development Project has suffered badly under the UPA rule. This is just an example. Indeed, work on so many other aspects of India’s development has also suffered because the UPA government has been paralysed due to its own internal contradictions. India cannot afford to have a paralysed government in New Delhi. This government must go, and it will certainly go whenever the elections are held. The people of Orissa, and the people of the rest of India, are waiting to see the NDA back in power at the Centre. I wish to assure you that the NDA government will be a strong government with a strong leadership. It will be a government wedded to the ideals of Good Governance, Development and Security. It will be government whose first priority will be to bring prices under control, terrorism under control, naxalism under control and to boost development, especially in those areas that have lagged behind. Our government will meet the aspirations of young people by unveiling the most ambitious policies and programmes to expand opportunities in education and employment at all levels. Our government will not discriminate among citizens on the basis of caste, community, language or region. Our government will discontinue the UPA government’s dangerous approach of dividing Indian society on “majority” vs. “minority” lines. I believe that national unity, national security and national development are indivisible. Only a united nation, with balanced development, can forge ahead to realize its full potential. Our government will bridge the gap between the developed states in the West and the developing states in the East. I would like to see Orissa develop as vibrantly as Gujarat has been doing. After all, it is from vibrant Orissa of the past that India sent its “army” of spiritual preachers, sailors, traders and temple-builders to countries in South-East Asia. Today, countries in South East Asia and Far-East Asia have become lands of prosperity. Why should India lag behind? Why should Orissa lag behind? My dream is to see the emergence of an India that is worthy of the dreams of all the great heroes of our glorious Freedom Struggle. My dream is to see that India emerges as one of the frontranking nations in the world in the 21st century, influencing the course of history in the positive direction. I am sure this is your dream too. Let us together strive towards realising this dream. Thank you.
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