Coming back in 2019, Rafales would have made huge difference now: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he is "coming back" as the Bharatiya Janata Party would win the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, even as he stressed that India would have given a fitting reply to Pakistan if it had the Rafale fighter jets already.

"Don't worry... I am coming back in 2019, so if you need anything from the Central government, you can tell me," he told a massive gathering of the Patidar community at Jaspur near Ahmedabad.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Rs 1,000 crore Umiya Mata (deity of the Patidars/Patels) Temple complex on the city's outskirts.

Wishing all success to the trustees of Umiya Mata Foundation for this project, Modi said, amid huge applause, "If you need anything in this, my home in New Delhi is all yours, and don't worry, I am there even after 2019 (elections)."

At the event, the Prime Minister also called on the Patidar community to refrain from female foeticide and made the gathering take an oath against "killing your daughters". He was referring to the major scourge of sex determination, with a view to eliminating the female foetus, among the Patidar community, especially in north Gujarat.

On a two-day visit to his home turf, Modi began his day by laying the foundation stone for a desalination plant to convert sea water into fresh water and dedicating a 700-bed government hospital.

The Prime Minister later inaugurated the six-km-long first phase of the Ahmedabad Metro rail from Vastral in the city's eastern suburbs.

Addressing a gathering in Jamnagar, Modi mocked the opposition for failing to understand why the Rafale was so much important for the Indian Air Force.

He called upon the Opposition, without naming it, to use "common sense" when it speaks about the Rafale jets.

"If the Indian Air Force had the Rafale today, the situation would have been different, but some people do not have it in them to understand this," he said, adding "When I say this, they question the Air Force strikes."

"I am saying, that at the time of (Balakot) airstrike, if our fighters were given Rafale, not one this side would have gone and no one on the other would have survived."

In a reference to the air strike across the international border, Modi said he preferred doing "big things" such as the Ayushman Bharat scheme, held as the world's largest.

"As you know, small doesn't suit me. Anything that I do, has to be big. Didn't you see recently?" he said.

The Prime Minister claimed credit for taking measures to "cure the malady of terror" for the country, while adding that a "'bimari' (ailment) called terrorism has to be eliminated from the source, nothing can be done from here. And the root of the disease lies in our neighbourhood".

"The entire nation agrees that the disease of terrorism has to be eliminated. I want to ask you, don't you trust what our armed forces say? Should not everyone, including me, believe in our armed forces without raising questions? We should be proud of our armed forces. But, instead, some people still question the forces," he said.

Earlier in the day, Modi also also presided over the release of Narmada Water into Ranjit Sagar reservoir made under the SAUNI Yojana to address the water shortage crisis in the region.

He said for many years, water shortage remained a major issue in Gujarat since the state was drought-prone. "While there was a problem, there was also a determination to solve this problem. We worked to improve water availability, particularly in the areas where water shortage was more," he said, adding that the Sardar Sarovar Dam has brought much relief to Gujarat's people.

"This project was completed despite neglect from earlier state governments and adversities from various quarters. I was certain that I can't allow 'Tanker Raj' to carry on in Gujarat," he said.

--IANS

desai/vd