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Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi launched a fresh attack on Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the centre, accusing it of misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation to target him and asserting he would not be cowed down by such threats.
"The government in Delhi wants to stop our march to power. They have fielded the CBI to threaten us. The CBI can silence Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati but not me," he said addressing the BJP supporters at the airport in Mumbai.
Modi, who arrived in Mumbai to a rousing reception by BJP workers and supporters on his first visit to the city after being anointed the party's prime ministerial contender, said, "They (the Centre) have been trying to instill fear of the CBI (in me) every now and then. I will never be cowed down by the CBI, IB, RAW or any agency in the world."
Amid repeated chants of "Modi! Modi", the Gujarat chief minister said the large crowd gathered to receive him would make the government in Delhi "jittery".
"They (the Centre) know that those who are with the people in their good and bad times would form their government at the Centre. Now the crowd in Mumbai will make them feel even more jittery," he said.
"The prime minister is in America but people don't have confidence that his visit will have any benefits for the country," he said.
"I am in the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji. I want this land to bless me so I can serve the people, those exploited, those deprived, well. I want this land to bless me so I do no wrong," he said as the crowd repeatedly chanted his name and waved party flags.
Image: Gujarat CM Narendra Modi at the inauguration of a diamond hall in Mumbai