"Headlined, “Narendra Modi lands in Uttarakhand, flies out with 15,000 Gujaratis’, Mr Soondas’s story had appeared in The Times of India on June 23. The story made many claims in addition to the rescue of 15,000 pilgrims. Among them: requisitioning of four Boeings and 80 Toyota Innovas by Mr. Modi towards passage of the rescued pilgrims; air-dropping of a complete medical team on Hardwar; and setting up of camps across the flood-hit areas. The Gujarat Chief Minister’s supporters greeted the news in jubilation, citing it as proof of his super-managerial skills, and saying that the performance of the Centre, the Uttarakhand Government, and even the Armed Forces, had paled in comparison. BJP office-bearers hailed Mr. Modi’s effort as a model to be emulated by the Centre and other States. But soon, criticism started on two grounds. The first punctured the ‘15,000’ figure, with several reports showing how it was logistically impossible to conduct such an ‘evacuation’ operation in the limited time span and in the prevailing weather conditions. Others pointed out that even if true, the act of only rescuing Gujaratis, did not enhance the image of a prime ministerial aspirant. It was after this that Rajnath Singh stepped in and questioned the veracity of the story." cc Khalid Shah
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 11:56:07 +0000
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