 Akshay Azad
Early Times Report
VIJAYPUR, Feb 3: The loudspeakers were blaring announcements about black objects while police personnel at security barricades were ensuring that no black item entered the venue of Bhartiya Janta Party's "Maharally" where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to lay foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) inaugurate several other projects.
The advisory against the entry of black clothes, was lifted unofficially by the organizers, after being observing that most of the people in the audience were in black jackets or black clothes. The advisory against black objects was confined to scarf, caps, gloves, handkerchief while people in black robes were allowed to cross the security barricades.
A podium was set up in the middle of five makeshift marquees. In each marquee a maximum of 7200 chairs were kept but out of maximum of 40,000 chairs, a large number were empty at both the extreme marquees. Apart from the central stage for dignitaries and PM Narendra Modi, over two dozen display screens and several loudspeakers were set up to make speakers, visible and audible to the gathering.
Prime Minister Modi reached the stage at 12:46 PM flanked by MOS Dr. Jatinder Singh, Governor Satya Pal Malik and several BJP functionaries. Governor SP Malik presented a shawl to PM Modi but after few minutes his absence from the stage was conspicuous.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi e-inaugurated several projects after which MOS Dr. Jatinder Singh and BJP state president Ravinder Raina addressed the gathering. As Raina was delivering his speech, PM Modi whispered something in the ear of a BJP leader, who in turn whispered in the ear of stage secretary Yudhvir Sethi who immediately rushed towards Ravinder Raina and delivered the message.
After getting the message, Ravinder Raina hurriedly concluded his address paving way for Prime Minister's speech. Modi started his speech at 1:05 PM with slogans of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". He also tried to touch emotion chord of Dogras by speaking few lines in Dogri.
Modi tuned back to Hindi and had just spoken few sentences that at 1:19 PM, all the display screens went black, making Modi invisible to most of the gathering. The gathering responded to the black screens by coming out of the already half- filled marquees. The technical snag could not be fixed for over five minutes.
The stream of people coming out of the makeshift tents, refused to stop despite Modi's audible speech. Nervousness was visible over the faces of the BJP leaders and workers present in the gathering. When the screens restarted displaying Modi, much water had crossed the Devak river, on whose banks, AIIMS is being established.
Maximum people had already left the venue until Modi completed his speech, except people in front of the stage. Those leaving the venue were regretting the decision of bringing black scarf, caps, gloves which were thrown by police in the dusty ground, making them useless. "If all the black jackets and clothes were allowed in the rally, then what was the problem with my black woollen cap", Thuru Ram, who had come from Ramnagar constituency rued.
His colleague Rajkumar, who works as labourer said that they had started journey at 7 AM but so far got nothing to eat. "During our return journey, probably we will eat something", Rajkumar said.
During morning hours, matadors could be seen overloaded at their roof tops along with fluttering BJP flags. Motorcyclists were also seen without helmets and engaged in tripling despite huge deployment of police and traffic police personnel at every nook and corner. |
