This was Mr Modi's first speech as the BJP's PM candidate.
today said politicians should learn a lesson in secularism from the armed forces, where soldiers fight for the nation alongside each other regardless of which community they belong to.
Two days after his party, the BJP, named him it's presumptive Prime Minister, the Gujarat Chief Minister, whose detractors often question his secular credentials, attempted to turn that debate on its head, slamming the Congress-led Centre for asking a government panel, the Sachar Committee, to do a head count in the Indian Armed Forces according to community.
"Vote bank politics in India has become disgusting. I would like to tell the politicians who want to divide India into small groups...there is no bigger example of secularism than the armed forces", Mr Modi said, making a pitch for a Delhi posting at a rally largely of ex-serviceman in Rewari, Haryana. (
Highlights of the speech)
A huge photograph of Mr Modi and the Indian parliament formed the backdrop of the stage.
He attacked the Congress-led UPA government for its handling of security issues like incursions by China and the killing of Indian jawans at the border by Pakistan, saying, "The problem is not at the border, the problem is in Delhi and so the solution must come from Delhi too."
The BJP leader asked Pakistan to stop waging war against India with cross-border terrorism and exhorted it to join a fight against poverty, the biggest battle of all, he said.
Mr Modi played to his 1.5 lakh strong audience, which chanted his name right through his 65-minute speech, punctuated only by the many glasses of water he stopped to drink on the hot September afternoon.
He repeatedly saluted Indian soldiers, peppering his address with anecdotes, and the crowd, many people precariously perched on poles, roared in approval when he confided that he was more excited about being amid soldiers today than he was on Friday when his party announced him its candidate for PM.
He promised that he would demand a white paper from the Centre on "one rank, one pension," a key demand of ex-servicemen.
Rewari, about 90 km from national capital Delhi, is home to thousands of serving and retired soldiers.