People turn off radios, when ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is on: Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi resumed to his Bihar election campaign after a brief break addressing four rallies in Marhaura (Chhapra), Hajipur, Nalanda and Naubatpur near Patna on Sunday.

Modi also recalled Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, whose birth anniversary falls on October 31, and said he made a huge contribution to India’s unity.

His comments assume significance as recently there have been incidents of violence, i.e., lynching of a man over beef-eating rumours in Uttar Pradesh and burning of a Dalits house in Haryana, which had communal and casteist overtones.

“May there be peace, unity and harmony in the country”, Modi said here on the occasion of Dussehra, a festival which symbolises victory over evil.

Sources keeping a close watch on the proceedings said that irked by the development, the PMO wanted the project to get over by October this year, to underline India’s efficiency and commitment as a major player in the region.

Meanwhile, on prime time chat shows, television journalists who have long predicted that Modi as prime minister would be a disaster, now take obvious glee in pointing out that they were right.

Gold has been pouring into India since the government a year ago scrapped gold import restrictions, including the 80:20 rule, which required gold traders to export 20 percent of the gold that they imported. “I’ll inaugurate the Ambedkar Bhavan in London, which is now the Indian government’s property”, he said.

“Baba Ambedkar’s message of seeking knowledge and then using it for the country will be an inspiration for our students who go there to study”, he said. A few states have made good progress in reducing the paperwork.

Asserting that organ donation is an important issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised Tamil Nadu for their leading endeavours in this regard while praising the other states for their initiatives towards the cause. At present, there are 55 licensed organ transplant hospitals.

In this context, he referred to a recent case where liver was specially arranged and rushed from Lucknow for a poor vendor battling for life in a Delhi government hospital.