Advani to be the next Prime Minister: Modi

Vadodara, Jan 17 (PTI) Rubbishing speculation that he
was involved in a leadership tussle in Bhartiya Janata Party
(BJP), Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said L K
Advani "will be the prime minister" after the next Lok Sabha
elections.

"After the Lok Sabha elections, BJP will come to power
and L K Advani will be the prime minister," Modi said
addressing a gathering in Halol town after inaugurating three
day-care centres.

Without naming anybody, Modi accused a "tolki (a
mocking reference to a group of people) sitting in Delhi" for
deliberately raising the controversy on the issue of BJP's
prime-ministerial candidate to divert attention from the
"success" of Vibrant Gujarat global investors summit.

"After the development works we have undertaken in
Gujarat, Delhi now recognises that a BJP government can come
to power at the Centre after the upcoming elections. Our
leader L K Advani will be the prime minister and under his
leadership even the country will witness rapid growth like
Gujarat," Modi said.

The BJP has projected Advani as its prime ministerial
candidate.

However, Modi's praise as Prime Ministerial material
by industry captains including Anil Ambani and Sunil Mittal on
the sidelines of investors summit in Ahmedabad recently led to
a flutter in the BJP with the saffron party terming it as a
complement to the party's senior leaders and its chief
ministers.

Modi said as many as 8,500 MoUs projecting an
investment of Rs 12 lakh crores were signed during the summit.

The pledged investments will offer employment to 25
lakh people. "You can see investment coming to Gujarat
even in the backdrop of the slow down," Modi said.

But "it is not liked by the 'tolki' and for diverting
the attention from the overwhelming success of this summit it
has raised the issue on the candidature of Prime Minister,"
the chief minister said.

Union Textiles Minister S Vaghela had Friday accused
Modi government of giving "wrong data" on investments coming
to the state and demanded a white paper on the success of the
past summits.

Modi also announced that aganwadis located across
Gujarat will now be known as Nand Ghar.

He also launched the Bal Sakha scheme under which
newborns will get services of child specialists for one month
after birth. The mothers will also be provided medical
counseling.

Modi congratulated SETCO Automotive Limited which had
constructed the three day-care centres for naming them Nand
Ghar (the house where Lord Krishna was brought up).

SETCO announced it will build a total of 10 such
centres by end of this year in Kalol in Panchmahal district
which is expected to benefit 3,000 children and women in the
area.