India has just begun to shine: Advani

Deputy PM to file nomination from Gandhinagar today

Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani set a feverish pace of campaigning in Ahmedabad for the forthcoming general elections, as he held six public meetings in the city on Sunday.

Speaking primarily of development and meeting basic needs of people by 2010, the BJP's star campaigner said that people now strongly believe that the nation is on the fast track to become a developed nation soon.

Advani, who is scheduled to begin the second leg of his Bharat Uday Yatra from Porbander on Tuesday, will file his nomination papers from the Gandhinagar seat on Monday. Advani will then visit the Somnath temple before embarking on the Bharat Uday Yatra.

Speaking at public meetings in Shahpur, Asarwa, Dariyapur, Vasna, Vadaj and Sarkhej (some areas fall under the Gandhinagar constituency, while others fall under the Ahmedabad constituency) Advani said that the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls will be different from all the past general elections.

"The forthcoming polls are totally different from those of the past. The purpose this time is formation of a modern India and not just establishing a new government at the Centre," Advani said addressing people in Shahpur and Asarwa assembly segments. He was accompanied by his wife Kamala Advani at the public meetings.

Stating that credibility is the single factor that people consider while voting, the BJP leader said under the leadership of Vajpayee, India is on the path of development and that the government has established its credibility during the past five years of its governance.

"A few years back, if claims were made that India will emerge as a developed nation within a decade, people would have dismissed it as a mere election speech. But today people strongly believe it is possible, thanks to last six years of BJP rule," Advani said.

Commenting on the "India Shining" campaign, Advani admitted that there was still a lot of work to be done. "The debate today is whether India is really shining or not. I must say that India has just begun to shine during the BJP rule, but it has still not shone completely," Advani stated.

He quickly added that of the six lakh villages in the country, there are still many who do not have drinking water, schools, primary health centres and other facilities.