Modi kahin nahi jaayega: Gujarat rallies behind PM Modi after Kharge remark row
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi led a public show of support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bhildi, Banaskantha on Friday, 30 October, as the slogan 'Modi kahin nahi jaayega' (PM Modi will not go anywhere) rang out across the district during the Prime Minister's visit to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for development projects. The political counter came days after Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's controversial remark about the Prime Minister's late father set off a national row.
The Slogan and Its Political Context
Students raised the slogan as PM Modi arrived at the event in Bhildi. Addressing the gathering, Sanghavi said the chant had been echoing through villages across Banaskantha during public programmes and cleanliness drives organised ahead of the Prime Minister's visit. He then invited the audience to repeat it, framing it explicitly as a message of continued political support.
'Until India becomes one of the world's leading economies, Modi kahin nahi jaayega. Until India becomes self-reliant and a manufacturing hub for the world, Modi kahin nahi jaayega,' Sanghavi said. He also linked the slogan to the government's stated goals — providing permanent housing to every poor family, eliminating poverty, creating more Lakhpati Didis, taking development to remote areas, and ending what he described as dynastic and appeasement politics.
What Kharge Said That Triggered the Controversy
The backdrop to Friday's demonstration was a remark made by Kharge at an event in Patna on 25 October, where he was speaking about alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. When a man in the audience interrupted him with the same 'Modi will not go' chant, Kharge reportedly responded: 'Modi ka baap bhi jayega' (Even Modi's father will have to go).
The comment drew sharp criticism from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, who accused Kharge of making an objectionable remark about the Prime Minister's late father. The BJP has repeatedly accused Congress of using abusive language against Modi, and Friday's gathering in Banaskantha appeared calibrated as a ground-level response to that charge.
Sanghavi's Address and Key Claims
Sanghavi, describing himself as speaking as a young citizen rather than merely as Deputy Chief Minister, alleged that the Prime Minister's late parents had been repeatedly dragged into political attacks. He argued that the public reaction — from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, in villages and city streets — demonstrated mass support for Modi. He also recalled his own family's migration from Banaskantha to Surat roughly 50 years ago due to water and electricity shortages, contrasting that past with the district's present development trajectory.
Development Announcements at Bhildi
Assembly Speaker and Banas Dairy Chairman Shankar Chaudhary credited PM Modi's initiatives — including round-the-clock power supply, the Sujalam Sufalam canal network, and the Govardhan scheme — with transforming the lives of farmers and livestock owners in the region. He claimed that arrangements under the scheme now allow livestock owners to earn more than ₹100 crore annually from cattle dung. Chaudhary also referred to the newly inaugurated Bharat Bovine Breeding and Research Centre, whose stated objective is to improve milk productivity significantly.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel highlighted the release of the 24th instalment of PM-KISAN, the bovine breeding centre, Banas Dairy projects, and improved rail and road connectivity among the day's key announcements. Separately, Sanghavi cited figures showing that the annual profit reaching Banaskantha's livestock owners through Banas Dairy had risen from approximately ₹30 crore in 2003 to ₹1,400 crore today.
Significance of the Visit
The Prime Minister's visit to Banaskantha also marked a personal milestone: 25 years since he first took oath as Gujarat Chief Minister on 7 October 2001. The programme covered inaugurations and foundation-stone laying across agriculture, dairy, and infrastructure sectors. As the political atmosphere remains charged ahead of upcoming electoral contests, the Bhildi rally signals that the BJP intends to keep the Kharge remark in public focus as a mobilisation tool at the grassroots level.