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By Manas Dasgupta
AHMEDABAD, MARCH 20. The NDA-sponsored "Swabhiman Rally" today publicly thanked the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, for unequivocally expressing India's concern at the denial of a visa by the United States to the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi. Comparing today's rally here with Mahatma Gandhi's Dandi March 75 years ago, the BJP national president, L. K. Advani, hoped that like the seemingly insignificant Dandi March, which had turned the course of India's freedom movement, the Swabhiman rally here would give the spark to India's fight for self-respect and pride among the comity of nations. Mr. Modi was "no longer just the Chief Minister of Gujarat; the U.S., by denying him a visa on a baseless ground, had linked him with India's self-respect and pride," Mr. Advani said. Mr. Modi was the first to express his "thanks and gratitude" to the Prime Minister for the bold stand taken by the Centre, even going to the extent of cautioning a "powerful country like the U.S. against hurting India's pride." He was joined by Mr. Advani and the NDA convener, George Fernandes, who said Dr. Singh had demonstrated that when it came to India's pride and self-respect, the whole country stood united. The rally was attended by the Shiv Sena leader and former Lok Sabha speaker, Manohar Joshi, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Babulal Gaur, the BJP national general secretary, Arun Jaitley, and the Janata Dal (U) state unit chief, Pravinsinh Jadeja. However, the former Chief Minister, Keshubhai Patel, and many other dissident leaders were conspicuous by their absence. Earlier, the Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, who was here to attend the national convention of the Hind Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat, told presspersons that the denial of visa to Mr. Modi was unjustified but the swabhiman rally was equally uncalled for. It demonstrated the BJP's "double standard'' and pointed out that when Mr. Fernandes was made to pass through security checks and frisked at an U.S. airport despite being the Defence Minister then, the BJP did not take it up as a case of national self-respect. Both Mr. Advani and Mr. Modi questioned the American Government's concept of religious freedom and said while it denied a visa to the Gujarat Chief Minister for the alleged "violation'' of religious freedom, it welcomed with open arms the leaders of those countries where religious freedom never existed and minority rights were "trampled down under the feet.'' Mr. Advani particularly named Saudi Arabia and Egypt where even religious books like the Gita and Bible were not permitted. ``If the U. S. thinks India is a pushover, we will show them how strong and united we are,'' Mr Advani said. Stating that such rallies should also be held in other parts of the country, he said today's rally was only the beginning of a nationwide challenge to American supremacy.
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