Modi announces another yatra from Oct 31

PORBANDER: Even as the Gaurav Yatra entered the fifth phase on Wednesday, Chief Minister Narendra Modi announced yet another yatra that his party will launch soon. This time it is the BJP Yuva Morcha which will bring out a rally on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel from Karamsad, his birthplace. The aim of the rally would be to strengthen the party at the grassroots level.Modi made the announcement on Wednesday in Porbander as part of the launch of the fifth and last phase of the Gaurav Yatra.Apart from this, his speech had no novelty, launching his usual attack on the Congress and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.The crowds however were not the same as what they were in the beginning phases. As Modi's entourage wound its way through the coastal highway, the crowd became thinner and at a few places like Mangrol and Gadu, it was just a few hundred people. The BJP had even distributed sarees with BJP symbol and 1500 such sarees were distributed by the Porbander city unit.The fifth phase began with a public meeting at Kirti Mandir, Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace, where Modi said, Pervez Musharraf has now set his eyes on Gujarat but the people of Gujarat are ready to give a befitting reply. According to Modi, the election results in Pakistan have pushed Musharraf to the wall and forced him to take some steps to save his chair. He feared that Pakistanis would try and use the huge coastline of the state for attacks.Modi also took credit for having ended the Mafia rule in Porbander and made a veiled dig at Santokben Jadeja, (made more famous by the film 'Godmother' starring Shabana Azmi). It is the Congress that harboured the likes of Godmother, not the BJP, he said.Although he continued his tirade against the Congress, Sonia Gandhi remained out of range in his initial speech, not once mentioning her name in the 30-minute address. Modi accused the Congress of anti-national activities and said the government from across the border was keen to see the Congress come to power in Gujarat but that would remain a pipedream. The Congress is trying to use the Mafia to capture power in Gujarat, but the BJP will not surrender to such Mafia raj, he added.While leaving Kirti Mandir, Modi did not prefer to sign the visitor's book, only taking a bow and walking out.BJP general secretary and spokesman Sunil Shastri who was present at the launch of the yatra called upon the Election Commission to announce assembly elections in Gujarat quickly as the situation was totally normal.