PM Modi distributing rickshaws to the unemployed during an event in Varanasi. (PTI photo)
Rows of hand carts and rickshaws were lined up in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliament constituency Varanasi this morning, glistening in the sun. They were freshly painted, saffron.
The Prime Minister distributed them to the poor and unemployed in his constituency and delivered a stern sermon to the opposition Congress, which he said had not empowered the poor or brought any real change in their lives in its many years of rule.
"What these people could not do in 50 years, I will do in 50 months," the PM said, dismissing the "garibi hatao or remove poverty" campaign of the Congress as political rhetoric.
What was needed, he said, was skill development and injecting technology in the lives of the poor, to help them earn more and become self-reliant.
He detailed in his speech his government's policies for the poor like the Jan Dhan Yojna or bank accounts for all to counter the allegation of the Congress that his 16-month-old government is anti-poor and has worked exclusively for the benefit of big industry.
Waiting to get a saffron rickshaw from the PM, an unemployed man said, "I am here for a rickshaw. I will start a business with it."
He wore a saffron scarf that he said was a gift from the BJP.
The political message in the saffron was obvious; the colour is associated with PM Modi's BJP and its ideological mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS.
About 100 km away from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh is the state's border with Bihar, where elections will be held in five phases starting next month. The BJP takes on the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Yadav-Congress alliance in the state and is seeking votes for Prime Minister Modi and his development agenda.
PM Modi is on his first visit to Varanasi in nine months. Two earlier visits were cancelled due to heavy rain.
On a whirlwind seven-hour trip, PM Modi will launch road and power projects and inaugurate a trauma centre.