Modi's speech at Rewari, a cause of concern for Congress: BJP

Delighted by the enthusiastic and overwhelming response of the people at a rally addressed by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at Rewari, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said that the public response was definitely a cause of concern for the ruling Congress Party.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi lauded Modi, and said that the speech made by the party's Prime Ministerial candidate calls for a great celebration.

"The enthusiasm among people watching their own ex-servicemen and the officers of the army and shouting slogans 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram', that enthusiasm was infectious and I am sure every Indian would wish to be part of that rally and that is a cause of great celebration for us and definitely a cause of concern for the Congress party," she said.

Modi, earlier in the day, said that politicians need to take lessons in secularism from the Indian army.

Speaking at a rally largely of ex-servicemen, he criticized the Congress-led UPA Government over its handling of security issues like incursions by China, the killing of Indian jawans at the border and repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan, and said that the problem is not at the border but with the Centre.

"Are our neighbours troubling us because our Army is weak? No. The problem is not at our borders but it is in Delhi. Till we have a capable government in Delhi, which is nationalistic and committed to protecting every citizen, we cannot guarantee security," he said.

He also questioned the policy to import weapons for the defence forces and said that India should dream of making and exporting weapons to other countries.

"Most of the budget of the Army goes towards importing cheap munitions. We are a country of 1.2 billion with the capability of launching its own missiles, but we import the smallest of things. We should dream that we would have the capability of developing our defense industries and become exporters," he said.

Modi was on Friday anointed as BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections.