Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the ongoing Lok Sabha elections were not for satisfying his personal ambitions, but for fulfilling his “mission.” A strong and stable government was important not only for the country but also for the world, he said, speaking at a poll rally in Junagadh in Gujarat.
“These elections are not for my ambition, as people have fulfilled that ambition in 2014. The 2024 elections are for Modi’s mission,” the PM said. Accusing the opposition Congress of having a “dangerous mentality”, Modi said its manifesto was written in the language of Muslim League.
For Congress, this election was all about saving its existence and the party was taking help of its “Mazhabi vote bank” to stay afloat, the PM claimed.
Referring to the controversy surrounding the Katchatheevu island, he said during the Congress rule, the Union government had no idea about the exact number of islands India had.
“I then got a satellite survey done and found that we have 1,300 islands. Some of them are as big as Singapore,” said Modi.
In another rally in Surendranagar, Modi attacked the Congress over party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s recent remark on Lord Ram and Lord Shiva, and accused the opposition party of trying to divide Hindus for its appeasement politics.
He also alleged that the Congress stabbed the Constitution in the back by proposing to give reservation on the basis of religion, and said the party promised quota for Muslims in government contracts.
“Now, Congress is trying to create division among Hindus. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has made a very dangerous statement about Lord Ram and Lord Shiva. This statement has been made with malafide intentions. They are playing a game to divide the Hindu community,” he said.
“Even the Mughals could not break our thousands of years of traditions, but now Congress wants to break it? How low will Congress stoop for appeasement?” he asked.
At a rally in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday in support of a party candidate Shivkumar Dahariya, Kharge had said, “His name is Shivkumar. He can compete with Ram because he is Shiva. I am also Mallikarjun. Main bhi Shiv hoon (I am also Shiva),” he said. Mallikarjun is another name for Lord Shiva.
Modi said the Congress and its supporters rejected the invitation sent to them to attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
According to him, the Congress has always been a party that made a “wrong delivery”.
“Instead of independence, they did the country’s partition. Instead of bringing development, they robbed what was already there. Instead of giving back to the poor, Congress filled its own coffers with that money. Now, Congress wants to deliver reservation to Muslims and they have been trying for the last three decades,” Modi said.
The imprint of Muslim League can be seen on the Congress manifesto, but the party is not uttering any word even as he has challenged them to come clean on the issue of reservation to Dalits, tribals and backward communities. “Congress leaders have stabbed the Constitution in the back by proposing to give reservation on the basis of religion,” he said.
Modi also alleged that Congress, in its manifesto, has proposed a separate quota for minorities, especially Muslims, in the allocation of all government tenders.
“Government contracts are not awarded on the basis of caste or religion. But Congress wants to do that for its vote bank. Government buys arms and ammunition for our army from private players. So now are we going to give contracts to the people from a specific religion or select contractors who are qualified? Congress will destroy the country to be in power,” said the PM.
“You will not be able to divide the country till Modi is alive,” he said.
The prime minister said he will launch a nation-wide campaign after June 4, when poll results will be declared, to spread awareness about the Constitution.
“I will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Constitution with great fanfare. I will expose this gang which wants to alter the Constitution. I will reach out to people living in every corner of the country after counting ends on June 4. I will launch a mega campaign to spread awareness about the Constitution. It’s high time we teach a lesson to these people,” he said.
Meanwhile, addressing a mega election rally in Anand town of central Gujarat Modi dubbed the Congress a “disciple” of Pakistan, and targeted Rahul Gandhi saying the neighbouring country was eager to make the ‘shehzada’ of the grand old party India’s next prime minister as the country’s enemies want a weak government to be at the helm.
Modi’s comments linking Congress with Pakistan came a day after Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former minister in Imran Khan’s cabinet in Pakistan, reportedly shared a video featuring Rahul Gandhi on his social media handle and praised him.
“Pakistan is crying because Congress is dying here. You all must have learnt that Pakistani leaders are now praying for Congress. Pakistan is eager to make ‘shehzada’ (referring to Rahul Gandhi) the next PM. This is not surprising because we already know that Congress is Pakistan’s ‘murid’ (follower)” he said.
“The partnership between Pakistan and Congress has now been exposed completely. It shows that the country’s enemies want a weak government in India, not a strong one…A weak government which was there at the time of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. They want a corrupt government which was there before 2014. But Modi’s strong government neither bows down nor does it stop,” the PM added. Unlike in the past when Congress was in power, the “tyres of Pakistan’s terror have got punctured” now, he said.
“A country which used to export terror in the past, is now struggling to import ‘atta’ (flour). The hands which used to hold bombs are now holding ‘bheekh ka katora’ (begging bowl),” he said. People across the world are now saying that India is a global bright spot. India is seen as ‘vishwa bandhu’ (global friend) who can resolve conflicts between two countries, Modi said.
On the issue of quota, he said, “Congress wants to give reservation to Muslims, the party’s favourite vote bank. For that, they want to change the Constitution. I challenge Congress to give in writing that they will not change the Constitution to give reservation to Muslims on religious basis.”
The PM also challenged the Congress and the INDIA bloc to give in writing that it won’t give reservation to Muslims “through backdoor by reducing OBC quota” in the states where the party and its allies are in power.
“I am challenging the shehzada to give this guarantee. There is no sense in taking the copy of the Constitution on the head and dancing. If you want to learn how to live for the Constitution and die for it, then come to Modi,” the PM added. Modi also took a dig at the grand old party over opposition leader Salman Khurshid’s niece Maria Alam’s call for ‘vote jihad’.
Alam, a Samajwadi Party (SP) leader, called for a “vote jihad” in favour of the INDIA bloc candidate from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha seat of Uttar Pradesh.
“Now, the INDI alliance calls for vote jihad. This is new, because we have so far heard about ‘love jihad’ and ‘land jihad’. This is said by a person who belonged to an educated Muslim family, not someone who studied in madrasa. I hope you all know what the meaning of jihad is and against whom the jihad is waged. This is an insult to democracy and not a single Congress leader has condemned it,” he said.
PM Modi said such statements proved that intentions of the INDI alliance were “dangerous”.
On the occasion, Modi remembered Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and said the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir was his biggest tribute to the country’s first home minister. Modi said in the last 10 years, his government provided tap water connections to 14 crore houses, while the Congress-led dispensations gave it to just 3 crore houses in 60 years of its rule.
This Election Is For Modi’s Mission, Not For Ambition: PM In Gujarat
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