Navsari, September 22 Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s concern over the country’s exploding population has no communal angle. That it has become such a recurrent theme in his Gujarat Gaurav Yatra is nothing diabolic. Today he moved from Hum paanch, hamare pachees to Paanch na pachees ane pachees na 625, which roughly translates into ‘‘from five to 25 and from 25 to 625.’’

But, Modi clarified during the Chikhli leg of the yatra today, his newest remark wasn’t directed at Muslims, rather, at those who ‘‘who didn’t believe in family planning.’’

‘‘There was a hue and cry over my statements at Becharaji but they still could not find the tapes,’’ Modi taunted reporters sitting with the crowd. ‘‘Now, journalists, especially those with tape recorders, should listen and tape carefully.’’ There was a long, theatrical pause, which was spoilt somewhat by a cow that ran in front of his gaurav rath. When Modi finally spoke, he said the population had to be kept in check to ensure that every child to get proper education, and that the Congress was ‘‘not taking any responsibility’’ because of ‘‘votebank politics.’’

‘‘In 5,000 years until independence, we were only 30 crore. But during the Congress regime, the population shot up to 100 crore,’’ he said. ‘‘There were no means of entertainment earlier, but why should the population rise today? When so many children are produced, they grow up to become cycle repairers or pick-pockets.’’

The only time Modi ever named any community directly was at Khergan, which he visited earlier in the day. There, he said Bohras had fewer education facilities and that their youth aspired at best to become bus conductors. ‘‘Why can’t they think of becoming doctors or engineers?’’ he asked. And answered the question himself: ‘‘Because the Congress does not want them to come forward. When Ehsan Jafri called up Congressmen for help, none of them came forward.’’

At Chikhli, Modi repeated a point made earlier at Becharaji as well: ‘‘The BJP is not ruling in China but the country has introduced family planning. My utterances about family planning have been given a communal colour. If something is wrong, it is wrong. I don’t know why the Congress is interested in increasing population. Probably to increase slums.’’

At his next stop at Bilimora, he targeted ‘‘Godhrana papiyo’’ and the Congress. ‘‘The train carnage accused are supplied chicken biryani and other delicacies in jail by people close to the Congress,’’ he said.

At Gandevi, ‘‘Miyan Musharraf’’ came under attack yet again.

‘‘He called us Hindu extremists. If Hindus were extremists, Pakistan would have been wiped out off the map,’’ he said to thunderous applause. ‘‘India has one and a half times more Muslims than Pakistan. Unlike the minorities in Pakistan, they feel safe in India.’’ And ‘‘Itali na chasma’’ became ‘‘Itali ni goli’’ as he wondered why the Congress did not criticise Musharraf for mentioning Gujarat to the

United Nations General Assembly.