Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for his election campaign at Churu on Tuesday which came hours after the Indian Air Force destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camps across the border. He said India was safe in his hands and recited a poem, 'Saugandh mujhe hai is mitti ki, main desh nahi mitne dunga' (I swear on the country's soil, that I will never allow the nation to perish). The response he received from the audience, who send lot of youths to armed and para-military forces, shows that things will be difficult for the Congress in Rajasthan. Congress had done very well in and around Churu in the Assembly polls. Throughout his campaign in Rajasthan during the Assembly polls, PM Modi rarely evoked this kind of response. The BJP is now confident that not only it will improve its vote share in assembly segments it won but will also do better where it lost and places where third parties and independents took away its winning margins. Earlier, Modi began the campaign for general elections in Rajasthan with his rally in Tonk on February 23, where he accused the Congress government of holding back on its promise to waive off farmers' loans. He had hinted at major action to avenge Pulwama, in Tonk. The next day, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot retorted and accused PM Modi of creating fear among the masses during his tenure, not keeping any of the promises made before the 2014 general elections and wrongly accusing the Congress government of not doing anything. Gehlot's schemes have extensively benefited the masses including farmers. While below poverty line (BPL) families get wheat at Rs 1 per kg, instead of Rs 2, farmers get Rs 2 lakh as loan waiver. Other benefits include provisions where farmers are not required to change land use if they set up a food processing unit in 10 hectares of land; freedom fighters' pension has been increased to Rs 25,000 from Rs 20,000, and the unemployment allowance for eligible youth has been raised five times. This reveals that Gehlot has taken it upon himself to lead the Congress in Rajasthan. Although the BJP seems to have taken the lead in planning out its election strategy, Gehlot has been meeting with independents and others who took away 22 per cent votes locking the Congress and BJP neck-and-neck in the Assembly polls. Both the parties are trying to take advantage of the Pulwama terror attack. Gehlot has doubled the cash compensation given to martyrs. His predecessor Vasundhara Raje has visited the families of the five CRPF personnel who belonged to Rajasthan. But Rajasthan is a place where every other day the body of a local jawan is received somewhere from Jammu and Kashmir. Modi will visit Churu on February 27, in the Shekhawati region, from where many youth join the defence and paramilitary forces. Both parties are taking the polls seriously. The Modi wave in Rajasthan is no longer as strong, although many want Modi to be Prime Minister again. How Rajasthan votes will depend on how much Modi does on Kashmir issue.<doc-sep>Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday address a public meeting in Churu, the Jat- and-farmer-dominated Shekhawati region. Modi had kicked off the BJP’S Rajasthan Lok Sabha campaign from Tonk last week where he had hit out at the Congress government for failing to fulfil its promise of complete loan waiver for farmers. He also gave the new slogan ‘Modi hai toh Mumkin hai’. Shekhwati comprises Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu districts which accounts for 21 seats. The belt was regarded as a Congress bastion but in the last election, the Congress won only four seats in the region. The BJP is going all out to make the PM’S rally historic, asking the workers to ensure a large turnout as it is being seen as a battle of prestige for the party. In 2014, the BJP had won all 25 Lok Sabha seats but in the face of a strong performance by the Congress in the assembly polls, the BJP is also fighting to save its dominance in the region. In the 2018 assembly elections, the Congress staged a comeback, winning 14 seats. The BJP won only 5 seats in the region in the assembly elections as against 12 seats in 2013. In the neighbouring Nagaur district which has 10 seats, the BJP won only two seats whereas it had won 9 in 2013. The Congress which was wiped out here in 2013 won 6 seats this time. Sikar, Nagaur and Jhunjhunu are Jat dominated. The region saw farmers unrest during the BJP government . The BJP is trying to raise the issue of loan waiver but it has not had much resonance among the farmer community so far. The region also had a large population of serving and ex-servicemen. Both BJP and Congress are keen to garner the votes of the defence personnel. While the BJP government has been highlighting that it made the one rank, one pension a reality, the Congress government has announced hiked ex-gratia payments to families of defence personnel martyred in action. During the assembly elections, Modi had campaigned in Sikar but that did not make much impact as the Congress won seven of eight seats while one went to an independent candidate. Political analyst Ashfaque Kayamkhani says the farmers, Jats, Dalits and minority will go with the Congress. Dalits and Muslims are upset with the BJP and will strongly back the Congress, The BJP’S hopes mainly rest on the Rajputs, Brahmins and OBCS (other backward classes) and the party is also playing up the 10% EBC (economically backward class) reservation to consolidate its traditional vote bank, he says.<doc-sep>Narendra Modi addresses rally in Churu, Rajasthan. In first public remarks after strikes by the Indian Air Force across the Line of Control, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the country is in safe hands and that he will not let the country down. The prime minister stressed that nothing was above the nation. "Today is a day to pay homage to India's bravehearts. I want to assure you that the country is in safe hands," he said at a public rally in Churu, Rajasthan. India carried out "non-military, pre-emptive air strikes" across the Line of Control early this morning to target the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which was planning more attacks in the country after Pulwama, the government said. Here is what PM Modi said at the rally:<doc-sep>
As the nation is lauding the surgical air strike by Indian Air Force against terrorist launch pads on Pakistani soil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Churu, Rajasthan to address public rally on Tuesday. "You seem to be in a different mood today," PM Modi said as he opened his speech. "I assure you that the nation is in safe hands. I swear I won't let India slow down and bow down," PM Narendra Modi said addressing a public rally in Churu, Rajasthan With the leaders across political parties and rest of India praising the latest strike on terror outfits operting out of Pakistan, PM Modi revisited his government's decision to roll out One Rank, One Pension for retired defence personnel. ALSO READ:IAF air strikes across LoC LIVE: India confirms fighter jets destroyed biggest JeM terror camps in Balakot "Thousands of families in Rajasthan, along 20 lakh families across the nation have availed the benefits of One Rank, One Pension. We have disbursed Rs 35,000 crore to families of retired soldiers after the implementation of OROP," PM Modi said. He also praised the soldiers in Indian defence forces who hail from Rajasthan, mentioning how the recently inaugurated National War Memorial is special for the people of the state due to its contribution to the wings Indian armed forces. In a politically charged scenario ahead of the 2019 General Elections, PM Modi targeted the Congress-led Rajasthan state government for delay in handing over the list of marginalised and small farmers for inclusion in the PM-KISAN scheme. ALSO READ:Brother of martyred Pulwama CRPF jawan lauds IAF attack on JeM camps; says wants more pressure on Pakistan "I am glad that two days ago the biggest scheme for farmers was rolled out. With the click of one button, the first instalment of Rs 2,000 has been credited to bank accounts of more than one crore farmers and work is underway to send it to the rest of beneficiaries. 50 lakh farmers from Churu are also part of this scheme. It is unfortunate though, that not a single farmer family from Churu is among the one crore beneficiaries who received the first tranche of benefits under PM-KISAN. This has happened because the Rajasthan government has not send the list of beneficiaries to the Centre yet," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister further added that no beneficiary from Rajasthan has been reported among the 13 lakh patients who received the benefits under Ayushman Bharat scheme. "We are acheiving targets that were not even imaginable earlier," PM Modi said.