Modi targets Indira Gandhi's "indifference" during 1979 dam disaster

Morvi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday targeted former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for showing disrespect to the suffering of the local people here during the 1979 Machchhu dam failure or Morbi disaster.Attempting to highlight the commitment of RSS and Jan Sangh workers who were tirelessly working for the people, he said there was also a much talked about photograph that showed the then Prime Minister visiting the affected areas with handkerchief put on her face.

"There were two contrasting photographs and two different captions -- Manavta-ki-Mehek (Humanity smells) and Rajkiye Gandegi (the dirt of political power)'," the Prime Minister said trying to highlight the Congress indifference to the people's problems. The infamous dam-related flood disaster had occurred on August 11, 1979 and thousands of people were killed and rendered homeless. 

In Later years, books like 'No One Had A Tongue To Speak' were written on the disaster by Tom Wooten and Utpal Sandesara.The book also strongly contested the official claims that the disaster was an act of God. The Reports later said, the failure was caused by excessive rain and massive flooding leading to the disintegration of the earthen walls of the four kilometer long Machchu II dam. 

Morvi is a Patidar belt in close proximity to Rajkot and in his speech at the election rally, Mr Modi mocked at the Congress claims on development. "The Congress model of development has been hand pump; and our model is to extract water from the Narmada. There has to be a difference," he said. (UNI)