SEPT 7- This Saturday, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi will address his supporters from the ramparts of ‘Lal Qila’.
The event, however, will not be organised in New Delhi but Ambikapur in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh. The ‘Red Fort’ that Modi will climb will be a replica of the famous Mughal monument from where the Prime Minister of the country addresses the nation on Independence Day.
The BJP’s election campaign chief may claim to not dream of becoming the Prime Minister, but Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh is making special arrangements for his special guest to get a feel of the “Lal Qila address” before he is declared the Prime Ministerial candidate of the BJP.
A massive replica of the Red Fort has been rigged up in Ambikapur, about 320km from Raipur, where the six-phase Vikas Yatra of Raman Singh will conclude on Saturday. On the guest list for the function is the Gujarat chief minister, who has already attended the Vikas Yatra on May 18 at Rajnandgaon.
Modi is the only senior BJP leader to attend Raman’s statewide yatra twice, a development indicating a growing bond between the two BJP chief ministers in recent years.
“Modi is an extraordinary leader who has shown how good governance and development can be achieved and we all look up to him. With progressive vision and inclusive agenda, he can further contribute to nation building,” Raman said on Friday. A senior BJP leader at Ambikapur said: “When Modi can dare Prime Minister Mammohan Singh in his Independence Day speech, it’s not far when he will be addressing the nation from the Lal Qila. The Red Fort replica with Modi addressing from it is just the beginning of that dream that party leaders and workers in Chhattisgarh nurture.”
Elaborate arrangements have been made at the PG College ground in Ambikapur for the function to look momentous. Three huge waterproof aluminum domes have been erected covering an area of around 1.5 lakh sq feet, with large LED screens mounted at different points.
The construction of the Red Fort replica has been going on for the last 10 days and the seating capacity of the area is over 1.25 lakh persons, according to a public relations officer based in Ambikapur. The function is slated to start at around 3 pm.
Raman, during the 29 days of his yatra in different phases, has addressed as many 91 public meetings across the state. With an eye on Assembly polls slated later this year, the chief minister had performed bhumi pujan and laid foundation stones of development and construction projects worth `6,200 crore since May 6, when the yatra commenced.
INDIA TODAY
