Gold hunt: After Unnao, seer dreams of another 2500 tonnes of hidden treasure

Forget gold, go after black money: Narendra Modi
CHENNAI: BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Friday took at dig at the UPA government for ordering the excavation around a medieval fort site in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, for rumoured 1,000 tonnes of gold. "The whole world is making fun of us. Someone dreamt of it and the Central government has gone hunting for 1,000 tonnes of gold. The black money of all the corrupt people is stored in Swiss banks, worth more than 1,000 tonnes of gold. They should first get that back," Modi told party cadres at Chennai airport on his arrival. The Gujarat CM said if the Centre was capable of getting back black money stored in foreign banks, it would not have heaped humiliation on the country in the form of a gold hunt. He said a "cyclone of change" had gripped the nation. Alluding to cyclone Phailin which hit Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, Modi said it did not make much impact as the "cyclone for change" was already underway in the country. "People are dreaming of a Congress-free India, and Tamil Nadu, where BJP has little presence, was also part of this wave," he said. Speaking alternately in English and Hindi, Modi spelt out his foreign policy while delivering the Nani Palkhivala Memorial lecture at Madras University. "The corner stone of this policy would be to weave a harmonious neighbourhood, he said speaking on the theme of "India and the World," he said. "Our scriptures show the way we must relate with the rest of the world through its concept of 'Vasudaiva Kutumbakam', which means the world is one family. Peace and harmony come to us from our culture and leading lights like Mahatma Gandhi who stressed the moral dimension in the conduct of persons and nations," he said. Foreign policy has to be driven by people, not weak politicians sitting in Delhi," Modi said, adding, "India can be the alchemist of the world, giving a healing touch to bring nations together." Buddhism was a common thread to strengthen India's bonds with various countries. "Many look at India as the big brother. So India has a special responsibility to play in south Asia," he said. At the same time, it should have the political will to take decisions like the nuclear tests conducted by the NDA government in 1998. "The world has accepted that the present century is going to be Asia's century. Our responsibility is to ensure it is India's century too by combining our traditional strengths with modern initiatives," he said. Alluding to the fall of the rupee and the economic downslide, he wondered "how Tamil people have sent such a person ( Chidambaram) to Delhi". "We have to encourage states to partner with foreign countries based on development agenda like Gujarat is collaborating with Japan and Canada. Likewise, at a cultural and linguistic level, there can be partnerships between Goa and Portugal and Pondicherry and France," he said. Modi released Arun Shourie's book on 'Self-Deception: India's China Policies' on the occasion and presented a copy to political satirist Cho Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy said Modi was the new hope of the nation and "could be changing his residence to 7 Race Course Road in Delhi".