Days after Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s controversial remark about alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late father triggered a political row, the slogan “Modi kahin nahi jaayega” (PM Modi will not go anywhere) echoed across Banaskantha during the Prime Minister’s visit to the district on Friday, with Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi leading a public show of support for PM Modi.

The slogan was raised by students as PM Modi arrived to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for development projects.

Addressing the gathering at Bhildi, Sanghavi referred to the slogan being heard in villages across Banaskantha during public programmes and cleanliness drives organised ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit.

He then asked the audience to repeat it, linking PM Modi’s continued leadership to a series of national development goals.

“Until India becomes one of the world’s leading economies, Modi kahin nahi jaayega. Until India becomes self-reliant and a manufacturing hub for the world, Modi kahin nahi jaayega,” Sanghavi said, urging the crowd to raise the slogan together.

He also linked it to the government’s goals of providing permanent houses to every poor family, eliminating poverty, creating more Lakhpati Didis, taking development to remote areas and ending dynastic and appeasement politics.

“Until India becomes a developed nation, Modi kahin nahi jaayega,” he said.

The slogan was a direct political counter to the controversy that erupted after Kharge’s remarks at an event in Patna on October 25.

While speaking about alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Kharge was interrupted by a man in the audience who shouted that PM Modi would not go anywhere.

Kharge responded, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega” (Even Modi’s father will have to go).

The comment drew criticism from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, who accused him of making an objectionable remark about the Prime Minister’s late father.

At Bhildi, Sanghavi, who described his remarks as those of a young citizen rather than merely a Deputy Chief Minister, accused the Congress and its leaders of repeatedly using abusive language against PM Modi.

He alleged that the Prime Minister’s late parents had also been dragged into political attacks and said the response from people across the country had demonstrated their support for him.

“From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from villages to city streets, the same slogan is being heard — Modi kahin nahi jaayega,” he added.

Assembly Speaker and Banas Dairy Chairman Shankar Chaudhary also praised PM Modi’s contribution to the transformation of Banaskantha.

Recalling the region’s earlier shortages of water and electricity, he said: “The introduction of round-the-clock power, the Sujalam Sufalam canal network and other initiatives had changed the lives of farmers and livestock owners.”

Chaudhary said the Govardhan scheme had helped turn cattle dung into an economic resource rather than waste.

He claimed that arrangements had allowed livestock owners to earn more than Rs 100 crore annually from cattle dung.

Referring to the newly inaugurated Bharat Bovine Breeding and Research Centre, he said: “Its objective is to improve milk productivity, with one cow eventually producing as much milk as four cows under existing conditions.”

Deputy Chief Minister Sanghavi also recalled his family’s migration from Banaskantha to Surat around 50 years ago because of water and electricity shortages.

“The arrival of Narmada water, the Sujalam Sufalam scheme and drip irrigation had changed the district, which had since emerged as a major dairy centre,” he added.

Citing figures, he said the annual profit reaching Banaskantha’s livestock owners through Banas Dairy had increased from around Rs 30 crore in 2003 to Rs 1,400 crore.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, in his address, highlighted the 24th instalment of PM-KISAN, the bovine breeding centre, Banas Dairy projects, improved rail and road connectivity and the inauguration and foundation stone laying of Anganwadi-related works.

The Prime Minister’s visit marked 25 years since he first took oath as Gujarat Chief Minister on October 7, 2001.

The programme in Bhildi included the release of the PM-KISAN instalment and the inauguration and launch of projects in the agriculture, dairy and infrastructure sectors.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused some people of attempting to create panic in the country by spreading rumours about shortages of fertilisers and cooking gas amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran and countries in the Gulf region, claiming that the government had ensured uninterrupted fertiliser supplies to farmers despite rising international prices.

Addressing a gathering in Bhildi in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district, PM Modi said India was collectively dealing with the international situation, but alleged that some groups were trying to create confusion and public anxiety.

“When the country faces a crisis, some people seem to be happy. The latest example is the war involving Iran and the Gulf region. While India is united in dealing with the situation, these people have been spreading rumours,” he said.

PM Modi alleged that farmers had been made to fear that fertilisers would not be available and that artificial queues had been created.

He also accused these groups of spreading fears among women that cooking gas would run out, making it difficult for families to cook food or send their children to school.

“Their plan was to create chaos in the country so that they could defame Modi,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he had assured farmers that the government would stand firmly with them and claimed that, despite the conflict continuing, it had not allowed farmers to face a shortage of fertilisers.

Explaining the impact of the conflict on international markets, PM Modi said: “The prices of fertilisers and the chemicals used in their production had risen sharply. The government had absorbed the additional cost rather than passing it on to farmers.”

He added, “A bag of urea that costs around Rs 3,000 in the international market was being made available to Indian farmers for less than Rs 300.”

Similarly, while the international price of a bag of diammonium phosphate (DAP) had crossed Rs 5,000, farmers in India were getting it for Rs 1,350. “The government is bearing this entire burden so that our farmers remain strong and their lives improve,” he said.

PM Modi said India’s continued development amid global uncertainty was a source of hope for the world and called for national unity as the country pursued its development goals.

He also urged people, particularly the youth, to participate in the Run for Unity on October 31 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

“The annual Ekta Parv at Ekta Nagar, which is usually held in the morning, would be organised in the evening this year, with the programme scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m,” he noted.

The Prime Minister is in Gujarat on a two-day visit during which he launched and dedicated development projects worth more than Rs 14,000 crore in Banaskantha.

Delhi Home and Urban Development Minister, Ashish Sood, has ordered a magisterial enquiry into a building collapse in New Seemapuri that claimed four lives earlier this month, an official said on Friday.

The enquiry will be led by the District Magistrate (North-East), said the official in a statement, adding that it will also check for lapses on the part of government agencies and officials and fix responsibility.

Sood said, “This is a deeply tragic incident that has cost precious lives. We have ordered a magisterial enquiry to investigate every single aspect of this collapse. No guilty person or lax official will be spared.”

“Our immediate priority is to support the affected families, and our long-term goal is to enforce strict structural safety rules so that such an accident never happens again in Delhi,” he said.

A five-storey residential building (House No. E-402, built on a small plot of 20-25 square yards) collapsed on October 7 around 3 p.m. in New Seemapuri, Delhi.

Three adjacent structures suffered major damage, were declared unsafe by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and were evacuated.

Initial local enquiries indicate that demolition work using heavy, vibration-causing machinery on an adjacent unauthorised construction site triggered the collapse.

Nearby residential structures in the area have also been found to be weak buildings constructed on tiny plots without proper structural columns or beams.

Sood said the magisterial enquiry into the collapse has the mandate to ascertain the exact facts, circumstances, and root causes of the building collapse.

It will also identify violations of laws, building rules, and safety stipulations by owners, tenants, or private individuals and also check for lapses or omissions on the part of government departments, civic agencies, and their officers to fix accountability.

Sood said the enquiry will also recommend strict legal action against all erring individuals, agencies, or officials and examine the implementation of the National Disaster Management Act, 2005, and suggest permanent preventive measures to avoid such tragedies in the future.